Dr. Amit Gautham
When we relish the upma or pasta in our plates, we seldom think about how the ingredients make their way into these sumptuous dishes.
One of the most used cereals worldwide is wheat. It is one of the most durable and dependable crops after rice and maize and is grown under diverse Agro-Climatic conditions.
We will take a look at a variety called Durum wheat that is the raw material that goes into our daily food items. Durum wheat is used to prepare numerous food products such as macaroni, pasta products and semolina and plays a part in the nourishment of the world’s population including India.
Durum wheat (Triticum durum L.) is an economically important crop grown worldwide including India. It is being cultivated in 10 to 11% of world area and accounts about 8% of the total wheat production.
In central India it is being cultivated in Malva regions, Sourastra and Kathiaward in Gujarat and Kota, Bundi, Jhalaward and Udaipur regions of Rajasthan, Bundalkhand region and west Maharastara from a long time and its traditional food products like Bati, Bafla, Dalia, Churma, Lapsi, Upma etc. are being consumed as staple food.
Due to susceptibility to rust and limited production in 1960s the cultivation in mid India declined and farmers stopped growing Durum wheat varieties. Now, due to the development of highly tolerant and high yielding varieties the area, production and productivity of Durum wheat has increased day by day and central India is now called a hub for Durum wheat.
Pic: Durum Wheat kernel
Advantages of durum wheat cultivation
More Production in less irrigation
Durum (Malvi) wheat needs less irrigation as compared to bread wheat. Some varieties like Malav Ratan and Malav Karti can give 35-40 quintals/ha. in one or two irrigations, depending upon the availability of water. Varieties like Malav Shakti and Poshan gives around 50-60 quintals/ha. in three to four irrigations.
Pic: Durum Wheat crop stages
Nutrient security:
It is found that as compared to rice and aestivum (variety of wheat) nutrient value of Durum wheat is more, because it contains protein, micronutrients like iron, copper and zinc in large amount comparatively.
Table 1: Comparison between quality characters of popular Bread wheat (Lok-1) and Durum wheat (HI 8627)
| Varieties | Hectolitre weight (kg) | Protein (%) | Total carotene (ppm) | Iron (ppm) | Zinc (ppm) | Copper (ppm) |
| Malav Karti (durum) | 82.3 | 11.0 | 5.7 | 49.6 | 42.1 | 6.0 |
| Lok-1 (aestivum) | 80.1 | 10.6 | 2.3 | 35.5 | 27.2 | 4.5 |
From the above table, it is clear that, as compared to the most popular bread wheat (Lok-1) in central India durum wheat (Malav Karti) contains more values of total carotene (two and half % more), protein and micro nutrients. In addition, it contains vitamin B complex i.e., Riboflavin, Lysine and Thiamine in good amounts. It contains folic acid, calcium, vitamin E and antioxidants in good amounts as compared to bread wheat. Total carotene which is a precursor of vitamin A, helps to keeps eyes healthy and is useful in the development of immune system.
Security to rust and other disease:
Research showed that Durum wheat has different levels of rust resistance as compared to common bread wheat. Many Durum wheat varieties are resistant to brown rust, which is very prominent in bread wheat in India. Durum wheat can protect wheat cultivators not only in central India but also all over India where wheat is cultivated. It is also resistant to black rust (Ug 99) so it avoids the dispersion of Ug 99 race in India. Durum wheat is also resistant to seed borne disease like Karnal blunt and Kayama (Loose Smut) which gives seed born disease free wheat varieties.
Pic: Field view of Brown rust on Wheat
Job Orienting:
Durum wheat is mostly used in fast food like noodles, spaghetti, lasagna, vermicelli, macaroni, pasta and many other products.
Keeping in view the increasing demands of these products, many fast food production plants can be set up , providing jobs to many people.
Possibility of International business:
There is a wide competition in the export of bread wheat as compared to the Durum wheat. Since Durum wheat is a more profitable crop as compared to bread wheat, farmers can make good money by supplying disease free nutrient filled Durum wheat. In addition, they can get good market of processed food manufacturing in India.
New developed varieties of Durum wheat:
There are many Durum wheat varieties developed for different irrigation conditions, India Agriculture Research Institute, Regional station is working in very effective way for the development of many Durum wheat varieties for different irrigation conditions and improving its quality level. All the developed varieties are rust resistant, have high level of water use efficiency, drought and heat tolerable and contain high level of quality nutrients.
Therefore, the cultivation of Durum wheat makes great economic sense today as compared to other crops.
It surely is an opportunity for farmers in India to make use of indigenous technologies and crop varieties available for increased profitability and a fulfilling farming career!
Author :
Dr. Amit Gautham RA
Indian Agricultural Research Institute
Regional station Indore
Dear Sir,
Thank you for all the information on Durum wheat. It is very useful as there is not much material available in public domain. Would like to know what is India’s current production and area under production of Durum wheat.
Dear Mr Pise,
Thank you for your interest and response.We will get back to you with reliable data and information as soon as is possible
Team TSI
Dear Reader, Thanks for your interest in this article.You can connect with the authors on their social media accounts for more information.
Dear Arya,
Thank you for your interest in durum wheat.
India is the third largest durum wheat producer along with Italy. Durum wheat is mainly grown in Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Southern Gujarat, Some part of Karnataka, it accounts around 14% in whole wheat production of India. Since farmers are getting good yield even in one and two irrigation, so the farmer are diverting towards growing durum wheat and due to yellow pigment, and increase demand in pasta products like past, macaroni, Dalia, Semolina Industries are also focusing on durum wheat. so in near future there will be high demand of durum wheat in India.
What will be the area and production of durum wheat in India? Can I fetch high price in local mandi for it?
Dear Reader, Thank you for your query. You can connect with the author on his social profile to get more information.
Sir, sincere thanks for this information.
Is Bansi wheat is Durum wheat? As this wheat is grown in Chota Malva area and local name is not mentioned in this article. Bt other research paper it is mentioned that.
Will you give any scientific reference about gluten content and nutriional value of bansi wheat?
Dear Reader, thank you for your comments. You could go through the following link for your answer
https://ift.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1750-3841.13844. As per this report, Durum is also known as Bansi and Kathia.
For more information, the authors can be contacted on their social media handles.