Science / Medicine : New Wheat Thrives in Salty Soil and Loves the Heat

Two scientists say they have developed a form of wheat that thrives in salty soil, can be watered with seawater and prospers in hot arid climates.

Wild wheat grain is a uniquely hardy plant for a cereal crop, say the developers, Nicholas Yensen, an ecologist at the center for investigation in technology and science at the University of Sonora in Hermosillo, Mexico, and his wife, Susanna Bojorquez de Yensen, a food scientist at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

Salt buildup on farmlands is a natural process that has occurred since the first irrigated crops. The problem is global, but many Third World nations with hot, dry climates are the most severely affected. More than 4 billion acres of farmland has significantly reduced productivity. The vast majority of these lands are in Third World countries, but the United States alone loses between 200,000 and 300,000 acres annually due to salt.

Wild wheat grain could put these acres of barren farmland back into production, the Yensens say. It is a versatile and hardy plant that can withstand adverse climate and growing conditions.

Nicholas Yensen has traveled the world over the last 15 years in search of a plant that could be domesticated to grow in salty soils, but it was his discovery of one of these grasses, which was thought to be extinct, that led to the new grain. The grain belongs to a family of grasses that grows throughout North America. It is derived from a variety that was harvested by primitive tribes around the Gulf of California.

The grain thrives in salty soil and can survive in the desert for six months without water. It reaches optimum productivity when watered with half-strength seawater but can withstand full-strength ocean water. Wild wheat grain can also tolerate extreme temperatures: both those below freezing and as high as 122 degrees Fahrenheit.

Productivity and versatility aside, a major question is how does the grain taste. Surprisingly, the answer is not at all salty. The plant resists salt uptake at the roots and excretes salt onto the leaves, keeping the grain and plant tissues low in salt content. According to Nicholas Yensen, the grain has a pleasant, nutty taste. In taste tests at the Unviersity of Arizona, bread baked from wild wheat flour was as acceptable as whole wheat.

Serendipitously, many nutritional characteristics of wild wheat grain surpass those of conventional wheat. For instance, wild wheat grain surpasses those of conventional wheat. For instance, wild wheat grain contains about three times as much fiber and is high in bran. While low in protein, it does possess a well-balanced mix of essential amino acids. The grain is very low in mineral-trapping phytates and contains no gluten, a potentially allergenic protein.

So far, small amounts of wild wheat grain have been sold to local restaurants in Tucson. About 100 pounds was also sold to Neiman-Marcus, which marketed it in its catalogue as a gourmet item.

But the Yensens have much bigger hopes for wild wheat grain. They envision it as a food source for developing nations that could allow social and economic progress.