Global Changes in Cultivated Area and Breeding Activities of Durum Wheat from 1800 to Date: A Historical Review

Citation: Martínez-Moreno, F.; Ammar, K.; Solís, I. Global Changes in Cultivated Area and Breeding Activities of Durum Wheat from 1800 to Date: A Historical Review. Agronomy 2022,12, 1135. https:// doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12051135 Academic Editor: Massimo Blandino Received: 13 April 2022 Accepted: 5 May 2022 Published: 8 May 2022 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). agronomy Review Global Changes in Cultivated Area and Breeding Activities of Durum Wheat from 1800 to Date: A Historical Review Fernando Martínez-Moreno 1,* , Karim Ammar 2and Ignacio Solís1 1Agronomy Department, Technical School of Agricultural Engineering, University of Seville, 41013 Seville, Spain; [email protected] 2CIMMYT (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center), Carretera México-Veracruz, Km. 45, El Batán, Texcoco 56237, Mexico; [email protected] *Correspondence: [email protected] Abstract: Durum wheat is grown globally on 13.5 million ha in 2020/2021, which amounts to 6.2% of the wheat area. It is assumed that in the past it was more important, but the extent of that importance is unknown. In this work, a historical estimation of the durum wheat area globally was carried out, based on data of the main cultivating countries. Many of the data from the earliest period were based on percentage to all wheat. During the nineteenth century, the percentage of durum wheat to all wheat globally was around 14–16%. However, throughout the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, in America (USA, Canada, Argentina), Asia (Russia, China, India), and Australia, new land was sown with bread wheat, and therefore the percentage of durum wheat fell steadily to 7–9% from 1950 to 2005, and to 6–7% since then. For many years, Russia was the country with more durum wheat cultivation, with around six million ha in the period 1910–1940. Turkey, Italy, Algeria, and India were also big historical players regarding cultivation of this crop. Currently, Canada, Algeria, Italy, and Turkey have the largest durum wheat acreage. The main breeding activities and the future of durum wheat are discussed. Keywords: Triticum turgidum; wheat breeding; history of crops; agricultural history 1. Introduction Durum wheat (DW) (Triticum turgidum L. subsp. durum (Desf.) Husn.) is cultivated on 13.5 million ha (Mha) with a global production of 33.8 million tons in 2020/21 [ 1 , 2 ]. While globally minor, accounting for less than 7% of the total wheat produced worldwide, it is concentrated in relatively small geographic regions where it can be considered as a main cereal crop, contributing significantly to food production and agricultural income. Historically, it is well adapted to low and/or variable rainfall environments, with frequent terminal heat stress, such as the Mediterranean Basin. In fact, countries of the Mediterranean Basin (Algeria, Turkey, Italy, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, France, Spain, and Greece) account for approximately 50% of world acreage and production. Outside of the Mediterranean region, Canada, Mexico, the USA, Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and India are large to significant DW producers, with the first three being the most important DW exporters. DW is consumed in the form of a variety of products. Pasta products in their numerous form (spaghetti, macaroni, etc.) are by far the most widely produced and industrialized end-products. However, at least one fourth of the global durum production is used in a variety of staple foods such as couscous, bulgur, frike, and different types of flat breads and sweets, some widely industrialized while other produced mostly in the household [ 3 , 4 ]. Adaptation to the highly variable growing conditions of the different Mediterranean micro-environments and quality profiles suitable for the production of local food allowed durum wheat landraces to outcompete their bread wheat (BW) counterparts in the region [5]. Agronomy 2022,12, 1135. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12051135 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/agronomy Agronomy 2022,12, 1135 2 of 17 However, the DW acreage has been distinguished from that of other wheat species only recently, and even nowadays, statistics on DW cultivated area are not easily accessible for many countries. The website on crop statistics worldwide FAOSTAT does not allow the specification of which type of wheat one is interested in [ 6 ]. Most historical statistics refer to all cultivated species of wheat, i.e., BW, DW, and several other species of minor importance (einkorn, emmer, rivet, spelt, Timopheev, Khorasan, etc.). A study on the historical global DW area has never been carried out. The objective of this work was to explore the historical evolution of the DW area of the most important DW growing countries from 1800 to date, deducting from this analysis the evolution of the world DW area, and the percentage of DW within the total wheat area. Major varietal changes over time and main breeding impacts in each country are also included. 2. Materials and Methods Several sources were consulted to get information about the historical DW acreage. 1. Literature reviews. The books ‘Durum wheat breeding’ (Royo et al., 2005) [ 7 ] and ‘World wheat book’ (Volumes 1–3) (Bonjean and Angus, 2001; Bonjean et al., 2011, 2016) [ 8 – 10 ] were especially useful for information mining. In many cases, DW acreage is not mentioned as such, but a percentage from total wheat is listed. While generally useful, those percentages resulted in some cases in overestimating the actual DW acreage [ 11 , 12 ]. From 1998 onwards, the data used originated from IGC (International Grain Council, London, UK) Secretariat [1]. 2. Personal communication of DW experts of different countries where official statistics are not always available. 3. Several historical periods were distinguished in the present work. In the first ones, namely, 1800, 1850, and 1870, the DW area was difficult to obtain and was generally estimated from percentages of the total wheat area. Starting in 1890, the area was reported in a period of 10 years, and, from 2000 on, in periods of 5 years. The year 1935 was included instead of 1940 due to the lack of reliable statistics from involved in World War II. The year 1961 replaced 1960 because it marked the first year that statistics on crop acreage were published by FAOSTAT [6]. Many geopolitical issues had to be taken into consideration in the preparation of this manuscript. Several countries became independent from empires after World Wars I and II, others had modified borders and, finally, the USSR dissolution occurred. In the cases of Russia-USSR, the Austro-Hungarian empire and the greater India, statistics on wheat area corresponding to the years of the existence of the empire/geopolitical entity of that time were recorded. When the geopolitical entity ceased to exist as such, statistics of the newly formed countries were recorded. More importantly, the wheat acreage of Russia (and the former USSR) was not available in many reports of the world wheat situation in the period 1900–1950. The term ‘world ex-Russia’ was frequent in the statistics of those reports [13–16]. To carry out the study, three tables were prepared (Supplementary Materials). In Table S1, the historical (all) wheat area of 37 important countries over several seasons of the period 1800–2019 was worked out. This table was used as a basis to calculate the DW area when a percentage to all wheat area was provided. The percentage of DW area in every country and season could also be estimated. The world wheat area was also added to this table. The data based on estimations (earlier periods) are in green-colored cells when the total wheat area was also estimated, and in blue-colored when at least a source of information on the total wheat area of a country in a season was available. The most reliable data on wheat and DW area are in orange-colored cells (many were official data, especially after 1961 by FAOSTAT). In some cells, the letter ‘n’ signified that the country that did not officially exist at that time (e.g., Azerbaijan in 1950). Table S2 includes the DW historical area in 24 countries with significant DW area (Afghanistan, Algeria, Canada, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Greece, India, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Mexico, Morocco, Russia, Khazakhstan, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Spain, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, and the USA). Agronomy 2022,12, 1135 3 of 17 The DW area of Khazakhstan, Ukraine, and Azerbaijan was included in that of Russia during the 19th century and the Soviet period. The DW area of Pakistan before 1947 was included in that of India. The sum of DW areas of those 24 countries plus 3% of the area of the remaining countries was estimated as the DW world area. The additional 3% of the remaining countries was consistent with the known percentage in the period 1998–2020 [ 1 ]. Table S3 refers to the percentage of DW to all wheat area (%) of the main historically cultivating countries. Figure S1 shows a video of an animated bar chart of the DW acreage evolution of the 15 main historically cultivating countries in 1800–2020. 3. Results The global historical DW area in the different periods from the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century is provided in Table 1. Data from the 19th century are estimates based on cultivated area percentages from the beginning of the 20th century, but they can be considered as close approximation to the historical acreage of this crop. In the last two hundred years, DW area ranged between 8.4 million ha in 1800 and 19.7 Mha in 1930, with the most recent value of 13.5 Mha in 2020. The peak was reached during the 1910–1930 period with a DW area approaching the 20 Mha. From 1930 to 1950, about two Mha of DW grown worldwide were lost (from 18 to 16 Mha), but the acreage recovered to 18 Mha in the 1970s and 1980s. From the 1980s to 2000, 3 Mha were taken out of DW production, and another 2 Mha from 2000 to 2020. This relatively stable DW area contrasts with the huge growth of the total wheat area, which doubled from 1800 to 1900 (from 55 to 110 Mha). During the 20th century, the wheat area continued to increase, in order to surpass the 200 Mha in 1961. In the 1980s and 1990s, the global wheat area reached 230 Mha and then stabilized at about 220 Mha, the area of today. The percentage of DW to all wheat declined over the studied period. From 1800 to 1900, DW percentage decreased from 16.3% to 13.5%. This percentage first dropped below 10% (to 8.6%) by 1950, and, by 1990, it was 7%. Currently, DW represents 6.2% to all wheat. This percentage drop is mainly attributed to the increase in total wheat area over the period studied. Table 1. Historical durum wheat area and percentage from total wheat area. Year 1World Durum Area (Mha) World (Total) Wheat Area (Mha) Durum Wheat Area (%) 1800 8.41 51.5 16.3 1850 9.66 66.3 14.6 1870 11.18 84.6 13.2 1890 12.84 99.9 12.8 1900 14.89 110.0 13.5 1910 17.74 132.0 13.4 1920 19.60 149.5 13.1 1930 19.72 154.2 12.8 1935 18.40 157.0 11.7 1940 18.66 140.1 13.3 1950 16.33 189.4 8.6 1961 16.75 204.2 8.2 1970 18.78 208.0 9.0 1980 18.97 237.3 8.0 1990 16.04 230.8 7.0 2000 15.88 214.9 7.4 2005 15.88 221.7 7.2 2010 13.69 215.6 6.4 2015 14.29 223.4 6.4 2020 13.52 219.0 6.2 1Data of total wheat area from 1961 were taken from FAOSTAT [6]. The DW historical acreage and percentage to all wheat of the nine main DW-producing countries are presented in Figures 1and 2. Details on the evolution and area of these Agronomy 2022,12, 1135 4 of 17 countries (plus Spain and Ethiopia, which do not appear in the figures to facilitate a better visualization of them) are provided in the Section 4. The DW area of Russia steadily increased along the 19th century from a bit more than 1 Mha in 1800 to more than 5 Mha in 1900–1930 (Figure 1). At that time, that acreage accounted for a third of total DW globally cultivated. The area even surpassed 6 Mha in several seasons of the 1920s. After World War II, DW acreage in Russia progressively decreased to about 0.5 Mha, which is approximately the area of today. Turkey had a stable area surpassing 2 Mha until 1970, when it decreased to about 1.5 Mha in the 1980s, keeping that acreage from then on. Italy progressively increased its DW area from 1 to 1.5 Mha until the 1990s and then the area stabilized around the last figure. India has a considerable DW area (ranging between 1 and 2 Mha) until the 1940s when its acreage decreased to around 0.5 Mha, which is the current area. Algeria maintained a stable DW area over 1 Mha, which only fell in the 1990s, but recovered in the 2000s. The DW acreage of USA ranged for many seasons of the studied period between 0.5 and 1 Mha, except for two peaks: one in the 1920s and 1930s, and another in the 1980s (both with around 2 Mha). DW acreage of Morocco, Tunisia, and Syria remain fairly stable. However, the area of Syria decreased from 2005. Regarding the DW percentage to all wheat, the trend towards a slight decrease was recorded in almost all countries, except Italy (Figure 2). Russia had about 20% of DW acreage to all wheat until the 1940s when it steadily dropped to 3% in 1970, a percentage that has remained approximately the same until today. In Turkey, the percentage fell from 60% to 15% between 1950 and 1970. Then, it stabilized around 15%. Italy is the only country where the DW percentage has increased throughout the period studied, from 20% of the 19th century to 70% of today. Algeria had a large DW percentage close to 95% until the 1960s when it dropped to 67%. Then, it rose again to almost 90%, which is the percentage of today. India maintained a DW percentage of 15% to all wheat until 1940, then it fell to 3% in 1950, which has been maintained until today. In Morocco, a percentage of 70% was maintained until 1980, when it began to drop to 37% in 2000, and is 30% currently. The USA has kept a percentage ranging 4–5% in most of the studied period, except in the peaks of the 1920s–1930s and the 1980s, when it reached 7%. Tunisia has maintained in the studied period a high DW percentage ranging from 80–90%, whereas Syria kept a 70–80%, except in 2005–2015. Agronomy 2022, 12, x FOR PEER REVIEW 4 of 18 The DW historical acreage and percentage to all wheat of the nine main DW-produc- ing countries are presented in Figures 1 and 2. Details on the evolution and area of these countries (plus Spain and Ethiopia, which do not appear in the figures to facilitate a better visualization of them) are provided in the discussion section. The DW area of Russia steadily increased along the 19th century from a bit more than 1 Mha in 1800 to more than 5 Mha in 1900–1930 (Figure 1). At that time, that acreage accounted for a third of total DW globally cultivated. The area even surpassed 6 Mha in several seasons of the 1920s. After World War II, DW acreage in Russia progressively decreased to about 0.5 Mha, which is approximately the area of today. Turkey had a stable area surpassing 2 Mha until 1970, when it decreased to about 1.5 Mha in the 1980s, keeping that acreage from then on. Italy progressively increased its DW area from 1 to 1.5 Mha until the 1990s and then the area stabilized around the last figure. India has a considerable DW area (ranging between 1 and 2 Mha) until the 1940s when its acreage decreased to around 0.5 Mha, which is the current area. Algeria maintained a stable DW area over 1 Mha, which only fell in the 1990s, but recovered in the 2000s. The DW acreage of USA ranged for many seasons of the studied period between 0.5 and 1 Mha, except for two peaks: one in the 1920s and 1930s, and another in the 1980s (both with around 2 Mha). DW acreage of Morocco, Tunisia, and Syria remain fairly stable. However, the area of Syria decreased from 2005. Figure 1. Historical area (Mha) in the nine main durum wheat cultivating countries in 1800–2020. Sources of information: [12,13,15,17–25,37,39,40,89]. Regarding the DW percentage to all wheat, the trend towards a slight decrease were recorded in almost all countries, except Italy (Figure 2). Russia had about 20% of DW acreage to all wheat until the 1940s when it steadily dropped to 3% in 1970, a percentage that has remained approximately the same until today. In Turkey, the percentage fell from 60% to 15% between 1950 and 1970. Then, it stabilized around 15%. Italy is the only country where the DW percentage has increased throughout the period studied, from 20% of the 19th century to 70% of today. Algeria had a large DW percentage close to 95% until the 1960s when it dropped to 67%. Then, it rose again to almost 90%, which is the percentage of today. India maintained a DW percentage of 15% to all wheat until 1940, then it fell to 3% in 1950, which has been maintained until today. In Morocco, a percentage of 70% was 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1800 1850 1870 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1935 1940 1950 1961 1970 1980 1990 2000 2005 2015 2020 Year Algeria India Italy Morocco Russia Syria Tunisia Turkey USA Figure 1. Historical area (Mha) in the nine main durum wheat cultivating countries in 1800–2020. Sources of information: [12,13,15,17–32]. Agronomy 2022,12, 1135 5 of 17 Agronomy 2022, 12, x FOR PEER REVIEW 5 of 18 maintained until 1980, when it began to drop to 37% in 2000, and is 30% currently. The USA has kept a percentage ranging 4–5% in most of the studied period, except in the peaks of the 1920s–1930s and the 1980s, when it reached 7%. Tunisia has maintained in the studied period a high DW percentage ranging from 80–90%, whereas Syria kept a 70–80%, except in 2005–2015. Figure 2. Historical durum wheat area (%) to all wheat area in the nine main durum wheat-growing countries in 1800–2020. Sources of information: [14,15,17,19,20,23,29–44,46,48,50]. 4. Discussion 4.1. Historical Global Durum Wheat Area Historically, DW was cultivated in regions with mild climatic conditions, such as the Mediterranean Basin and south Black Sea Basin (with spring landraces, planting in late fall), while BW was cultivated in colder temperate zones of Europe and Asia (with winter landraces, planting in the fall) [17]. However, throughout the 18th and 19th century, there was a huge expansion of wheat cultivation by European settlers of new lands in America, Asia, and Australia [37]. Between 1850 and 1950, large areas in Russia, China, and the USA were put into wheat cultivation, and, in 1890–1920, wheat area growth was observed in Argentina, Australia, and Canada. The majority of this new wheat land was sown with BW [37]. The growth of DW area was much lower and mainly attributable to an increase in the cultivation of this crop in Russia in 1870–1920. From 1930 to 1950, a decrease in the DW acreage was observed, which was associated with the decline in cultivation of this crop in Russia [39,40]. During the period 1930–1970, total wheat acreage expanded by about 80 million ha globally, but most of this expansion again involved BW [37]. This unequal expansion of the two crops is probably due, to a large extent, to the industrialization of markets that favored BW for its more suitable gluten characteristics in the industrial production of bread, with DW wheat beginning to be targeted primarily to pasta production, a much smaller market than bread. Another reason for this unequal growth may be related to the expansion of wheat into more difficult environments, those requiring high cold tolerance, winter hardiness, or tolerance to soil toxicities, where BW, thanks to the enhanced variability and adaptability provided by its D-genome (absent in DW), could be more competitive than DW [45]. As a probable consequence of these drivers, a higher investment in technology and intensification was devoted to BW, especially in terms of breeding. Since the late 18th and beginning of the 20th century, many breeding programs were initiated in the UK and France [28,46]. Soon Italy, USA, and Australia followed [47–50]. Only some Italian breeding programs focused, and partially at that, on 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 1800 1850 1870 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1935 1940 1950 1961 1970 1980 1990 2000 2005 2015 2020 Year Algeria India Italy Morocco Russia Syria Tunisia Turkey USA Figure 2. Historical durum wheat area (%) to all wheat area in the nine main durum wheat-growing countries in 1800–2020. Sources of information: [14,15,17,19,20,23,29–31,33–48]. 4. Discussion 4.1. Historical Global Durum Wheat Area Historically, DW was cultivated in regions with mild climatic conditions, such as the Mediterranean Basin and south Black Sea Basin (with spring landraces, planting in late fall), while BW was cultivated in colder temperate zones of Europe and Asia (with winter landraces, planting in the fall) [ 17 ]. However, throughout the 18th and 19th century, there was a huge expansion of wheat cultivation by European settlers of new lands in America, Asia, and Australia [ 29 ]. Between 1850 and 1950, large areas in Russia, China, and the USA were put into wheat cultivation, and, in 1890–1920, wheat area growth was observed in Argentina, Australia, and Canada. The majority of this new wheat land was sown with BW [29]. The growth of DW area was much lower and mainly attributable to an increase in the cultivation of this crop in Russia in 1870–1920. From 1930 to 1950, a decrease in the DW acreage was observed, which was associated with the decline in cultivation of this crop in Russia [ 30 , 31 ]. During the period 1930–1970, total wheat acreage expanded by about 80 million ha globally, but most of this expansion again involved BW [ 29 ]. This unequal expansion of the two crops is probably due, to a large extent, to the industrialization of markets that favored BW for its more suitable gluten characteristics in the industrial production of bread, with DW wheat beginning to be targeted primarily to pasta production, a much smaller market than bread. Another reason for this unequal growth may be related to the expansion of wheat into more difficult environments, those requiring high cold tolerance, winter hardiness, or tolerance to soil toxicities, where BW, thanks to the enhanced variability and adaptability provided by its D-genome (absent in DW), could be more competitive than DW [ 49 ]. As a probable consequence of these drivers, a higher investment in technology and intensification was devoted to BW, especially in terms of breeding. Since the late 18th and beginning of the 20th century, many breeding programs were initiated in the UK and France [ 28 , 46 ]. Soon Italy, USA, and Australia followed [ 47 , 48 , 50 , 51 ]. Only some Italian breeding programs focused, and partially at that, on DW. The rest of the programs dealt primarily with BW breeding, with a substantial emphasis on winter BW, with breeding for winter hardiness and cold tolerance resulting in the expansion the crop in new cold environments. In the 1960s, new BW spring cultivars were starting to be released by the breeding program, which would later become CIMMYT (Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo) or the International Center for Maize and Wheat Improvement, which were semi-dwarf, resistant to lodging, resistant to diseases Agronomy 2022,12, 1135 6 of 17 (especially stem and leaf rust), and highly responsive to fertilizers that became very popular among farmers worldwide [ 52 ], further making BW more attractive to farmers than DW. India and the former USSR are examples of this preferential expansion of BW in that period [12,30]. Based on all the information reviewed, an estimate of the proportion of DW area out of the total wheat area of 14–16% in the period 1800–1850 is realistic. This proportion decreased as total wheat acreage expanded. From the late 1960s to 1980s, a modest recovery in the DW acreage was recorded, with the percentage of DW ranging between 17 and 18 million ha. The reasons for this recovery are the following: 1. New DW cultivars with traits that made them more competitive with BW (dwarfing, resistant to diseases, high yields, wide adaptation) were distributed globally by CIMMYT to many developing countries with expanding agricultures [ 53 ], and others bred by several public institutions and companies in Italy (e.g., Stazione di Granicoltura per la Sicilia) [54]. 2. A growing demand for DW products, especially pasta (globally a trendy food product from the 1970s), but also couscous, bulgur, and frike, in the West Asia and North Africa (WANA) region, which are staple foods. 3. Generally higher price of DW compared to BW in most markets. Price disparity, almost always favoring DW, is variable, generally 20% higher than the price of BW grain. In countries where DW and BW can be interchanged and markets are relatively free, either crop can be favored in any given year based on the price differential for that particular year. It should be noted that DW commercialization is more restricted due to the smaller number of end-use products, compared to BW, for which it is used [55] and the extent of household consumption. 4. Policies encouraging farmers to grow DW. Those policies were applied in the European Union, Canada, the USA, and even in North Africa [56]. 4.2. Cultivation and Breeding in the Main DW-Growing Countries: A Summarized History Although Canada is currently the country with most DW area in the world, historically the countries with the largest cultivated area were Russia, Turkey, Italy, Algeria, and India. Other important producers from 1800 to present were Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, the USA, Spain, and Ethiopia (see Figure S1). 4.2.1. Russia Historically, rye has been the most important cereal in Russia [ 57 ]. However, wheat also played an important role, especially in latitudes below 50–52 ◦ , mainly with spring wheat varieties that do not require any vernalization, sown in spring after the snow melt (79.2% from total wheat in 1883–1914, 68.4% in 1917–1990) [ 31 , 57 ]. During the 19th century, DW accompanied Russian settlers into the fertile but semiarid steppe north of the Caucasus and into western Siberia. By 1900, DW had expanded further to the east, being sown along the southern margin of the spring wheat belt, in nitrogen rich soils, and in a warm and dry climate. The presence of railway in Siberia permitted the transportation and commercialization of grain outside the region. DW landraces such as Arnautka, Kubanka, Chernokoloska, Garnovka, and Beloturka from the Caucasus and Volga region (many of them of Turkish origin [ 58 ]) were brought to the east [ 59 ]. DW was mainly cultivated in four regions (from west to east): Lower Don (north of Black Sea), Middle Volga (north of Caspian Sea), southern Urals, and Altai Krai [ 30 ]. A great share of the DW production in the European side of Russia was exported through the port of Taganrog on the Azov Sea, to Italy and France. Taganrog wheats, in fact, a mixture of different landraces from the Don and Volga regions, were famous for their pasta quality in Italy and France [ 31 , 60 ]. The production east of the Volga region was mostly destined to domestic consumption, especially in the form of bread. There was a small share of winter DW planted in regions with relatively mild winters (to avoid winterkill), such as the steppes of Ukraine and the Caucasus region of Russia [ 42 ]. Before 1914, the DW area was approximately 6 million ha Agronomy 2022,12, 1135 7 of 17 (about a third of DW acreage globally), with an annual production of about 4.7 million tons [ 61 ]. After the 1917 Revolution, the DW area starts to slowly decrease, especially in the eastern regions. In the period 1920–1940, DW acreage fell from 28% of the spring wheat area (roughly 6 million ha) to 17% (around 4 million ha). In the Kostanai oblast (today northern Kazakhstan), DW dropped from 13.1% of the spring wheat acreage in 1939 to 4.1% in 1952 [ 30 ]. After the World War II, DW area continues to recede, being replaced by BW, with more yield, more yield stability, and better response to intensive cultivation. BW breeding programs were successful and yielded cultivars such as Saratovskaya-29 (spring BW), released in 1956 at the Station of Saratov (lower Volga region), and Bezostaya-1 (winter BW), released in 1959 at the Krasnodar Research Institute of Agriculture [ 31 ]. While DW breeding efforts existed, they were of lesser resources. The DW cultivar Melyanopus was selected in 1929 from a landrace of the Saratov region, and the cultivar Bezenchukskaya 139 was released in 1980. This latter cultivar was sown for several years on close to 1.4 million ha annually in the former USSR [ 31 ]. After the dissolution of the USSR, DW acreage has continued to decrease in Russia, and is currently maintained at approximately 0.5 Mha. Kazakhstan has a DW acreage of about 0.4 Mha, in the north of the country (Akmola and Kostanay regions) and with a tendency towards growth [43]. 4.2.2. Turkey DW in Turkey represented around 65–70% of the total wheat area during the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century (during the Ottoman Empire), which accounted for an acreage of 1.6–2 million ha, making Turkey the second largest DW-growing country after Russia. During the periods that have been looked at, Turkey was always among the world’s top three countries in terms of DW area (except in 1930), reaching the top spot during several seasons in the 1970s. DW took up 80% of the wheat area in Southeast Anatolia, 60% in Thrace (European Turkey), and 40% in the coastal areas. In the central Anatolia Plateau where DW occupied 70% of the total wheat area, most landraces were of winter or facultative type [ 44 ]. A great diversity of DW landraces, and even wheat species (e.g., einkorn, emmer), was a feature of the Turkish wheat landscape, which is consisted with a long history of these species in the country. The presence of the DW ancestor, the wild emmer in the southeast (Karacada˘g of Diyarbakır province), also contributed to this diversity [ 62 ]. DW landraces such as Kunduru, Üveyik, Sarı Bursa, Koca Bugday, Bagacak, Sorgul, Beyaziye, Havrani, ˙ Iskenderi, Karakilcik, Akbasak, and Kibris bugdayi are only some of the many sown by Turkish farmers. The total wheat area expanded from 4.4 million ha to 7 million ha from 1950 to 1960, and to 8.6 million ha by 1970. However, as in many other countries, the expansion involved mostly bread wheat, with the “Green Revolution” spring cultivars originating from CIMMYT, such as Penjamo-62, Mentana, Sonora 64, Lerma Rojo 64, and others from different origins such as Lancer and Bezostaya-1. The main DW national breeding programs are: CRIFC in Ankara, BDMIKHAM in Konya, ANADOLU in Eskisehir, EGE Tar. Ars. Ens. in ˙ Izmir, Do˘gu Akdeniz Tar. Ars. Ens. in Adana, and GAP UTAEM in Diyarbakır. They were assisted by CIMMYT, ICARDA (International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas), and OSU (Oregon State University) for germplasm obtention and training. Cultivars such as Kiziltan 91, Emin bey, Ege-88, Solen-2002, Fırat-93, Saricanak-98, Zuhre, Ayzer, Sarıbasak, and Kunduru 1149, were developed and grown in recent years. DW cultivars still have a lower production compared to BW, are less tolerant to cold, and many are Zn sensitive (Zn deficiency is a problem in many soils of Turkey) [ 44 ]. Currently, DW area ranges between 1.1 and 1.2 million ha, around 16% of the total national wheat area, and nearly 10% of DW acreage globally [1,2]. 4.2.3. Italy During Roman times, DW replaced emmer as the main wheat species along the Mediterranean Basin. Wheat was named triticum in Latin, while the proper name of DW was robus. However, Romans commonly called DW triticum, their main wheat species, as Maghrebi farmers later called DW simply gamh (wheat) [ 27 ]. At the end of Agronomy 2022,12, 1135 8 of 17 the Roman Empire, BW (siligo) started to penetrate from the north, to become the most important wheat species in the Italic Peninsula, with DW being displaced and restricted to the south [ 17 , 63 ]. During the 19th century, Italy had a stable (although slightly and steadily increasing) DW area ranging from 1.0 to 1.5 million ha, which represented around 25% of total wheat area. This proportion increased to about 70% in the late 20th century and beginning of the 21st century. The traditional regions of DW cultivation were in the south (Mezzogiorno), especially in Sicily, with more than half of the Italian acreage for many seasons, followed by Sardinia, Puglia, and Basilicata [ 64 ]. In recent years, part of its cultivation has moved to the center of the country and even to some areas of the north (Toscana, Marche, Emilia Romagna, etc.). DW is mainly used for pasta production, such as spaghetti and macaroni, a trademark of the Italian cuisine, and for which the country is the world biggest producer. For this reason, Italy needs to import significant quantities of DW grain from other countries, especially Canada and USA. Landraces such as Tumminia or Timilia, Realforte, Russello, Scorsonera, and Saragolla were examples of Italian diversity of the DW germplasm [ 65 , 66 ]. Relevant and innovative DW breeding programs were established, starting in 1915 with the release of the cultivar Senatore Cappelli, obtained in Puglia through genealogical selection within the North African landrace Jenah Khertifa by Nazareno Strampelli from the Stazione Sperimentale di Granicoltura (Rieti). Other popular cultivars were Capeiti 8, Appulo, Trinakria, Creso, Simeto, Duilio, and Svevo [ 54 ]. Cultivar Capeiti 8 was released at the Stazione Sperimentale di Granicoltura per la Sicilia (Sicily) in 1955 by crossing Senatore Cappelli and the syriacum DW type (shorter and earlier maturing) Eiti 6. In 1974, the cultivar Creso was released. It came from a cross between a mutant of Senatore Cappelli (Cp B144=Castelfusano) and a dwarf CIMMYT line. The cultivar Simeto was released in 1988 by the same Sicilian research station that bred Capeiti 8. This cultivar had an excellent adaptability across different environments and high yield. It has been cultivated in a large acreage in many countries of the Mediterranean basin for more than 20 years. The cultivar Svevo, released by SocietàProduttori Sementi (Bologna) in 1996, stands out by the high pasta-making quality, and it is cultivated exclusively for the pasta company Barilla [ 54 , 67 ]. A high-quality reference genome sequence of the cv. Svevo was generated in 2017 by an international consortium [68]. 4.2.4. Algeria Algeria is the largest country in Africa with more than 2 million km 2 . Most DW cultivation is in the northern side of the country (sublittoral areas), facing the Mediterranean Basin, and with a Mediterranean climate characterized by irregular rainfall ranging from 300 to 500 mm, and relatively mild temperatures compared to the south desert areas. DW has been the main wheat species in the region since before Roman times. DW acreage has historically (19th and 20th century) ranged from 1 to 1.3 Mha, about 80–90% of the total wheat area, placing the country in the top five for DW area in most of the periods considered [ 69 ]. In the mid-19th century, Algeria went from a province of the Ottoman Empire to a French colony. Landraces such as Kahla, Hamra, Adjini, and Mahmoudi were among the many cultivated in Algeria, and most of them had a West Mediterranean origin [ 70 , 71 ]. French colonists brought spring BW landraces from southern France (such as Touzelle), and the Balearic Islands (landrace Mahon) for making French breads. After the independence in 1962, a growing and increasingly urbanized population demanded increasing amounts of cereal grain. National grain consumption (210 kg/person/year) is among the highest in the world, with many food products, such as couscous and local bread being made out of DW [ 69 ]. Algeria is currently still one of the largest importers of DW globally. INRAA (Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique d’Algérie) is the institution in charge of agricultural research in Algeria. It is distributed in several stations (such as the El Harrach experimental station) and took over DW breeding activities: landrace selection (Bidi 17 and Oued Zenati 368), crossing programs, and evaluating and releasing new lines from CIMMYT and ICARDA [69]. Agronomy 2022,12, 1135 9 of 17 4.2.5. India Wheat has been an essential crop in India since antiquity. The Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa archaeological site has shown that wheat was cultivated in that region about 5000 years ago [ 72 ]. Currently, India is the world largest producer of wheat (a production of 74.25 Mt in an area of 27.2 Mha) [ 6 ]. Many landraces and wheat species are cultivated in the country, such as BW, DW, emmer, and the ‘national’ Indian dwarf wheat (Triticum sphaerococcum) [ 11 ]. DW cultivation is very old in the country, and certainly the Arabs contributed to the extension of the crop [ 12 , 72 ]. It was suitable for drought conditions and grown in different regions, including Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, and Bengal [ 73 ]. After the independence of the country in 1947, DW cultivation almost disappeared in northern India, due to their high susceptibility to rusts, high lodging, and low response to fertilizers, compared to BW. However, their cultivation continued in central India due to its good tolerance to abiotic stresses, such as heat and drought. Traditional dishes made with DW semolina (suji) include laddoos (sweet balls) and chapati (flat bread). Many DW wheat landraces were mixtures of several landraces, or even with other wheat species, forming populations with particular grain characteristics, such red or amber color. Bansi was a popular landrace grown in Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka, while Jalalia (amber type) was mainly present in Madhya Pradesh, and Gangakali in Bengal. Several selection programs started in the 1930s from landraces such as Bansi. One of the typical features of the Indian DW landraces was their susceptibility to rusts, especially stem rust. Therefore, researchers started to introduce foreign resistant varieties such as Gaza. Indian emmer wheat landraces (e.g., Khapli) were also used in crosses with DW to introduce resistance to stem rust. In the 1970s, the first DW dwarf lines from CIMMYT entered India with a resounding success, about 10 years after the arrival of the first BW lines from the same center. BW cultivars such as Kalyansona and Sonalika were high yielding due to a high response to fertilizers and water, and soon they were sown over a large area. Since the 1980s, DW has slightly recovered in some northern regions, such as Punjab, due to its higher resistance to Karnal bunt and the release of new high-yielding cultivars, such as PBW 34, obtained at the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) in 1982. From 2000, the area under DW cultivation is said to be around 9% of total wheat area [ 11 ], an overestimation, since the current acreage is 0.8–1.0 Mha (with a slight increasing tendency), which represents around 3–4% [ 1 ]. The main producing areas are in the central zone, especially in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, south Rajasthan, and Maharashtra [74]. 4.2.6. Morocco DW was the main historical wheat species in the country. The Romans extended the cultivated DW area along the sublittoral part of the north of Morocco, and Arabs reinforced the cultivation of this crop, bringing new landraces from the Mediterranean Levant. Interestingly, as in other countries of the Maghreb, BW wheat was restricted to oases and some mixtures present in DW fields called ‘mule tail’. Zrea, Trikia, Maizza, and Asker were the most common DW landraces sown by farmers [ 26 ]. Ground grains of these cultivars were used to make couscous, the national dish. DW area was about 95% of all wheat area, which amounted to 0.4–0.6 Mha during the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. French colonists started to cultivate BW in 1912, and this crop rapidly gained ground. This expansion helped to supply grain for internal consumption, and to export grain to France [ 75 ]. By the late 1940s, DW area was around 1.0 Mha, while bread wheat acreage ranged 0.3–0.4 Mha [ 20 ]. By this time, a growing population demanded products rich in carbohydrates. Authorities supported BW cultivation in the 1980s, and BW products became an important part of the diet, especially in urban areas [ 26 ]. 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