Effect of irrigation, fertiliser type and variety on grain yield and nutritional quality of spelt wheat (Triticum spelta) grown under semi-arid conditions

Previous studies reported higher antioxidant and mineral micronutrient concentrations in organic compared to conventional wheat flour, but the reasons are poorly understood. Here we report results from a long-term, factorial field experiment designed assess effects of variety choice, supplementary irrigation contrasting fertilization regimes used production on nutritional quality yield spelt grown semi-arid environment. Long-straw (Oberkulmer, Rubiota, ZOR) varieties had 10–40% grain Cu, Fe, Mn Zn concentrations, while modern, short straw Filderstolz 15–38% activity. Supplementary use manure instead NPK as fertilizer no substantial effect composition grain, increased yields by ~ 150 18% respectively. Overall, this suggests that breeding/variety selection is most promising approach improve environments.