I. Research Notes New dates for recent cultivation of Triticum monococcum and Triticum dicoccum in Jugoslavia1) Elisabeth SCHIEMANN Forschungsstelle fur Geschichte der Kulturpflanzen in der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Berlin-Dahlem, Germany Einkorn is still a regular crop in 4 villages in Kroatia, Herzegowina and Macedonia. It was astonishing to hear that Emmer is even more abundantly cultivated there, because Emmer has quite disappeared in Middle Europe since the beginning of this century, while some new places have been realized in South Germany and Switzerland, where Einkorn is cultivated by simple peasants. Emmer is still found in 7 villages in Kroatia, and one in Bosnia, Herzegowina and Montenegro respectively. The specimens of both species come from regions with very different climatic and ecological conditions (cf. the following table) ; poor, even the worst soils are preferred showing the low requirements of these crops. In Macedonia, Einkorn is also cultivated on heavy soil in an eastern-continental climate ; it is said to be more spread in other parts of the country (for which no details were given) as a crop or sporadically as a weed among other cereals. There is no Emmer registered for Macedonia. It is interesting to find both crops in Herzegowina at a place with Mediterranean climate-again indeed on poor soil-and, last but not least, to hear that Emmer gives best yields in the hills of Bosnia and is used there as breadgrain still now-a-days. Einkorn is always found in pure cultures. It is much appreciated for the fine white flour, which is fit for bread and sweets; besides it is used as fodder for horses and pigs. There is nothing known about use of the straw to fasten vines-as in Germany. Emmer is grown as a pure crop in Herzegowina, Bosnia and Montenegro, but in Kroatia only in 2 of the 7 villages; in the other 5 it is but scarcely found and then mixed to barley or oats as fodder-plant, especially for pigs; only in bad years it is used for bread. In Montenegro, where it is said to have been an important crop for man's nutrition 30 years, ago, it is grown.only sporadically as fodder, thus obviously going back. |
1) The material was kindly given to me by Prof. Z. Turcovic and Dr. I. Kovacevic. Thanks for their help! |
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