Abstract
Plant biodiversity preservation is one of the most important priorities of today’s agriculture. Wheat (Triticum spp. L.) is widely cultivated worldwide, mostly under a conventional and monovarietal farming method, leading to progressive biodiversity erosion. On the contrary, the evolutionary population (EP) cultivation technique is characterized by mixing and sowing together as many wheat genotypes as possible to allow the crop to genetically adapt over the years in relation to specific pedoclimatic conditions. The objective of this study was to assess the nutritional, chemical and sensory qualities of three different breads obtained using different organic EP flours, produced following a traditional sourdough process and compared to a commercial wheat cultivar bread. Technological parameters, B-complex vitamins, microelements, dietary fibre and phenolic acids were determined in raw materials and final products. Flours obtained by EPs showed similar characteristics to the commercial wheat cultivar flour. However, significant differences on grain technological quality were found. The breads were comparable with respect to chemical and nutritional qualities. Overall, the sensory panellists rated the tasted breads positively assigning the highest score to those produced with EPs flours (6.75–7.02) as compared to commercial wheat cultivar-produced bread (cv. Bologna, 6.36).
Highlights
Agriculture, the first actor composing the agri-food system, is currently facing two interconnected crises, such as climate change and biodiversity loss
Since the aim of the work was to produce and characterize breads produced under the same processing conditions, assessing the suitability of evolutionary populations (EP) for bread-making in comparison with a commercial variety and from flours belonging to the same commercial type according to the Italian legislation (Type 1 flours), we repeated the correspondence analysis including only breads obtained from Type 1 flours
L.) evolutionary populations cultivated in marginal areas under organic farming appeared to provide an environmental-friendly and market-oriented method to produce bread with an overall good nutritional quality and final consumer perception
Summary
Agriculture, the first actor composing the agri-food system, is currently facing two interconnected crises, such as climate change and biodiversity loss. Ecological principles are followed when considering cereal cultivation in marginal areas, such as mountains, high hills, or organic farming Among these approaches, the use of a higher inter- and intra-specific diversity and the selection of naturally evolved varieties adapted to the pedoclimatic context over the years [3] are the most efficient ones to ensure cereal yield and quality [4]. The use of a higher inter- and intra-specific diversity and the selection of naturally evolved varieties adapted to the pedoclimatic context over the years [3] are the most efficient ones to ensure cereal yield and quality [4] On this account, the evolutionary populations (EP) have been introduced with the aim to increase the cultivated biodiversity while ensuring adaptation to the specific pedoclimatic conditions and climate change effect. This concept, introduced more than 60 years ago [5] and applied by an increasing number of low input farmers [6], relies on the mixing and sowing together of as many genotypes of the same species as possible [7]
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