Emmer wheat

Here is emmer growing in downtown Tucson. Emmer is an ancient wheat whose wild version has been found in Israel's Rift Valley and radiocarbon dated at 17,000 BC. This relic crop is grown mainly in Italy, Spain, Turkey, Albania, Switzerland, and in the Czech Republic. It gives good yields in poor soils, resistant to fungal diseases, and is much higher in fiber than common wheat. Growing emmer in the Tucson basin for bread, pasta, beer, and animal feed has merit.