Tuesday Lecture – Cereal Grains

Reading: Textbook, Chapter 5

McClung Museum Field Trip – Review

- Reciprocal effects of agricultural on plants and people

Plants – “pre-adapted” by weedy habit domesticated People – changes to society structure: stratification ritual uses of plants/arts, medicine

- High yield agriculture – supports more people, but at the cost of good health (Dr. Crites: when corn became widespread, human health “went down the crapper”)

Quiz

1.Briefly describe 2 things that you learned during the field trip to the McClung Museum

2.During his discussion of New World agriculture, Dr. Gary Crites of the Museum staff mentioned several cereal crops that originated in the New World – name one of them (by scientific or common name)

What is a Cereal?

See Fig. 5.1, p. 111

What is a Cereal?

See Fig. 5.1, p. 111

Ceres – Roman goddess of agriculture (in Greek, Demeter).

Myth: mother of Persephone, who was kidnapped by Hades; Ceres went on strike to demand return of daughter; Persephone had eaten a pomegranate seed forced to divide time – explanation for temperate seasons

What is a Cereal?

Ceres – Roman goddess of agriculture (in Greek, Demeter).

Myth: mother of Persephone, who was kidnapped by Hades; Ceres went on strike to demand return of daughter; Persephone had eaten a pomegranate seed forced to divide time – explanation for temperate seasons

Grain = seeds/seedlike fruits of plants, particularly grasses

See Fig. 5.1, p. 111

What is a Cereal?

Ceres – Roman goddess of agriculture (in Greek, Demeter).

Myth: mother of Persephone, who was kidnapped by Hades; Ceres went on strike to demand return of daughter; Persephone had eaten a pomegranate seed forced to divide time – explanation for temperate seasons

Grain = seeds/seedlike fruits of plants, particularly grasses

Cereal = edible grains produced by annual grasses

See Fig. 5.1, p. 111

What is a Cereal?

Ceres – Roman goddess of agriculture (in Greek, Demeter).

Myth: mother of Persephone, who was kidnapped by Hades; Ceres went on strike to demand return of daughter; Persephone had eaten a pomegranate seed forced to divide time – explanation for temperate seasons

Grain = seeds/seedlike fruits of plants, particularly grasses

Cereal = edible grains produced by annual grasses

Cereal Grain – redundant? See Fig. 5.1, p. 111

Poaceae (Gramineae) – Grass Family

Poaceae (Gramineae) – Grass Family

Gramineae – traditional name for family

Poaceae (Gramineae) – Grass Family

Gramineae – traditional name for family

Ranks: 4th (number of species) 1st (Number of individuals) 1st – Economic Importance

Poaceae (Gramineae) – Grass Family

Gramineae – traditional name for family

Ranks: 4th (number of species) 1st (Number of individuals) 1st – Economic Importance

Agrostology – Study of Grasses

Grass Plant – Overall Structure

See Fig. 5.2, p. 112

Grass Infloresence Structure

See Fig. 5.2, p. 112

Grass Infloresence Structure

Flower

See Fig. 5.2, p. 112

Grain – Fruit of the Grass FamilySee Fig. 5.4, p. 112

Grain – Fruit of the Grass FamilySee Fig. 5.4, p. 112

Grain – Fruit of the Grass FamilySee Fig. 5.4, p. 112

Grain – Fruit of the Grass FamilySee Fig. 5.4, p. 112

Grain – Fruit of the Grass FamilySee Fig. 5.4, p. 112

Changes in Cereal Grasses through Domestication

1. Simultaneous tillering or elimination of branching

See Fig. 5.5, 5.6, 5.7, 5.8, pages 114-115

Changes in Cereal Grasses through Domestication

1. Simultaneous tillering or elimination of branching

2. Reduced lodgingSee Fig. 5.5, 5.6, 5.7, 5.8, pages 114-115

Changes in Cereal Grasses through Domestication

1. Simultaneous tillering or elimination of branching

2. Reduced lodging

3. Non-shatteringSee Fig. 5.5, 5.6, 5.7, 5.8, pages 114-115

Changes in Cereal Grasses through Domestication

1. Simultaneous tillering or elimination of branching

2. Reduced lodging

3. Non-shattering

4. Free-threshing

See Fig. 5.5, 5.6, 5.7, 5.8, pages 114-115

Major Cereal Crops

Barley – Hordeum vulgare

Wheat – Triticum (T. aestivum, T. monococcum, T. durum)

Rye – Secale cereale

Oats – Avena sativa

Rice – Oryza sativa

Sorghum – Sorghum bicolor

Millets – Eleusine coracana, Pennisetum glaucum, etc.

Corn – Zea mays

SeeTable. 5.2, p. 110

Barley – Hordeum vulgare First King of Cereals

Barley – Hordeum vulgare

Origin: near East (Fertile Crescent)

Uses: Bread, Beer, Livestock feed

6-rowed 2-rowedSee Fig. 5.9, p. 116

Wheat – The Staff of Life

“Wheat penny”

Evolution of Wheat

See Fig. 5.10, p. 117

Types of Wheat

Einkorn – relictual cultivation only

Emmer, Durum (tetraploid) “hard” wheat – used for macaroni

Spelt, Bread Wheat (hexaploid) “soft” wheat - bread flour

Higher ploidy higher gluten content (gluten – protein)

See Fig. 5.10, 5.11 p. 117

Einkorn Emmer Spelt Bread

Wheat and its Pests

Wheat rust, Puccinia graminis, is a major fungal disease that is spread by spores. It is controlled by selection of resistant cultivars (lower left)

Rye – Secale cerealeWeed or First Cereal Crop?

Standard Wisdom: originated as weed; better in cool climates

New Finds: 13,000 year old rye, in Syria 3,000 years older than other cereals

Rye, Witches, and Triticale

Rye with ergot fungus

A. Wheat

B. Rye

C. Triticale – intergeneric hybrid

See Fig. 5.14, p. 119

Oats – A Weed Becomes (Somewhat) Respectable

Origin – weed in barley or wheat

Adapted to cool climates animal feed

Romans: Germans “oat-eating barbarians”

Oats Close Up

Oat Spikelet – Glumes + Florets

See Fig. 5.15, p. 120

Rice – The World’s Most Important Crop

See Fig. 5.18, p. 122

Rice Close Up

Processing Rice

Rice – Next Steps for the Green Revolution

Rice – Genomic Research

Golden Rice – Boon or Bane?

Pro: solve problem (vitamin A deficiency) using biotechnology

Con: problem originated with technology (polishing rice) and can be reversed; problems exist with technology (“Frankenfoods”; new gene combinations); increased reliance on agrobusiness

Sorghum Likes it Hot and Dry

Origin: Ethiopia

Main Types of Sorghum

Four main types:

- grain sorghums

- sweet sorghum (animal feed)

- Sudan grass (related species)

- broomcorn

See Fig. 5.22, 5.24, p. 125

Millets – A Mixed Bag

See Table 5.4, p. 126

Finger millet – Eleusine coracana

Pearl millet – Pennisetum glaucum

Thursday Lecture – Corn

Reading: Textbook, Chapter 5