Spelled cultivation became particularly widespread in the Alemannic-speaking area, so much so that this area can be described as the heartland of the "Alemannic grain" (ZELLER, 1987). As late as 1913, over 231,000 hectares of spelled wheat were grown in Germany (HÖSEL, 1989); until the end of the 1930s The area cultivated for spelled declined in favor of common wheat, Triticum aestivum (WINZELER and RÜEGGER, 1991). In Switzerland, too, spelled was the most important bread grain, which is evident from the name "korn" for spelled. The main type of bread grain was referred to as "grain" in every country. Spelled also had a high status for many centuries in the western parts of Austria. It was precisely because of its undemanding nature in terms of climate and soil that spelled was able to be grown in the Alpine regions and was only... At the beginning of the 20th century, it was replaced by significantly higher-yielding varieties of soft wheat. The fact that processing spelled requires several operations than wheat, which definitely includes devesting, i.e. removing the husks, certainly contributed to this.

As a result of a general increase in health awareness, spelled was rediscovered around 25 years ago. According to the motto "Back to nature", old cultivated plants experienced a renaissance, just as people returned to traditional remedies and recipes. As early as the 12th century, Hildegard von Bingen had described spelled as a medicinal plant with the best properties and was able to achieve healing success with it , this plant received a new status at the end of the 20th century. A lot was also expected of spelled, and many of the original claims have since been scientifically proven by JACQUOT et al Higher protein contents of spelled than common wheat have been demonstrated, on the same scale as durum wheat, while CLAMOT (1984) can actually find no difference between these two Triticum species. He also classifies spelled as similar to durum wheat in terms of protein content; Foods made from spelled are included in the “healthy diet” category. ZÜLLIG (1984) compares various selected ingredients of spelled and wheat (examinations of the whole grain), although the results of the individual values ​​are quite different from one another; Overall, however, the nutritionally important substances are above average. There are also studies on the mineral content of different types of spelled compared to common wheat (MOUDRY and DVORACEK, 1999). A statistically proven difference was only found for zinc, although the analysis results always showed higher levels for spelled, with the exception of Ca. The selenium content in spelt is said to be higher than in wheat and is therefore of particular importance for human nutrition. JOHNSSON (1991) examined the selenium content in Triticum sativum over a long period of time, which unfortunately did not include spelled wheat. This chemical element plays an important role in human nutrition.

Selenium in spelled
W. Hein*, A. Edelbauer and H. Grausgruber**

Introduction
Spelled or spelled wheat (Triticum spelta) is an old cultivated plant that - as the name suggests - is related to wheat. In the area of ​​Southwest Asia, spelled was already around 6000 BC. Cultivated and used. Over the centuries, spelled also made its way to Europe, where it became widespread, especially in Central and Northern Europe, from Roman times onwards. Spelled cultivation became particularly widespread in the Alemannic-speaking area, so much so that this area can be described as the heartland of the "Alemannic grain" (ZELLER, 1987). As late as 1913, over 231,000 hectares of spelled wheat were grown in Germany (HÖSEL, 1989); until the end of the 1930s The area cultivated for spelled declined in favor of common wheat, Triticum aestivum (WINZELER and RÜEGGER, 1991). In Switzerland, too, spelled was the most important bread grain, which is evident from the name "korn" for spelled. The main type of bread grain was referred to as "grain" in every country. Spelled also had a high status for many centuries in the western parts of Austria. It was precisely because of its undemanding nature in terms of climate and soil that spelled was able to be grown in the Alpine regions and was only... At the beginning of the 20th century it was replaced by significantly higher-yielding varieties of soft wheat. The fact that processing spelled requires more operations than wheat, which definitely includes devesting, i.e. removing the husks, also contributed to

this as a trace element
As a chemical element, it belongs to the 6th main group of the periodic table with the natural isotopes (frequency information in brackets) 74 (0.9%), 76 (9.0%), 77 (7.6%), 78
(23, 6%), 80 (49.7%) and 82 (9.2%); the atomic weight is 78.96 and the atomic number is 34. Selenium is located immediately below sulfur in the periodic table and, like this, occurs in the oxidation states -2, + 2, +4, +6 on; the compounds with 4-valent selenium are the most common and most consistent. Similar to the homologous sulfur, selenium occurs in several allotropic modifications (RÖMPP, 1990).
Selenium is considered a structural component of the enzyme glutathione peroxidase. Glutathione peroxidase plays an important role in the body's antioxidant defense mechanisms and is found particularly frequently in certain cells such as erythrocytes, phagocytes, thrombocytes, in the liver, eyes and all organs and tissues with a particularly active oxidative metabolism. Selenium is significantly involved in thyroid hormone metabolism (MAYER, 1998). Selenium is an important cell protection factor, thus offering protection against chromosomal damage and increasing the body's resistance to pathogens. Selenium is actually necessary to maintain all body functions. Selenium also protects against the acceleration of aging processes and damage to the genetic apparatus.
The World Health Organization (WHO) states that the daily requirement of selenium for an adult is 50 - 200 µg as the optimal supply. However, the German Nutrition Society (DGE) only recommends an amount between 20 and 100 µg per day. A distinction is made between age, gender and general health and possible risk groups. The average selenium intake in Germany is only around 40 - 60 µg/day and is therefore on the verge of a deficiency. In certain diseases such as heart attack, coronary heart disease, cancer or liver cirrhosis, selenium levels in whole blood or serum that are far below normal have been found. Severe selenium deficiency leads to pathological enlargement of the heart and severe joint diseases (Keshan disease) in humans.
The main sources of selenium in human food are animal and vegetable proteins. Around 65% of the total selenium intake comes from animal protein, with sea fish, eggs, chicken and pork in particular being foods containing selenium (MAYER, 1998). When it comes to plant-based foods, selenium comes mainly from grains, but soybeans, sesame, sunflower seeds, nuts, asparagus and garlic are also richer in selenium than other vegetables and fruits. However, their selenium content depends heavily on the selenium content of the soil, which in the USA and Canada is around ten times that of Europe. The selenium content of European soils ranges between 0.194 mg/kg soil in Schleswig-Holstein and 0.074 mg/kg soil in Bavaria. There is also similar information about the Austrian conditions, with the values ​​being around 0.2 mg/kg soil (AICHBERGER and HOFER, 1989; BZI, 1994). A range between 0.6 and 4 mg/kg soil is considered optimal. That's why the selenium content of North American grains is far higher than that of Europe, although there are still regional differences here. Wheat from North America can contain selenium in the range of a few mg/kg, 10 to 20 times more than found in Central European wheat grains. The selenium content of European grains is therefore not sufficient to cover the daily selenium requirement. However, the selenium content of the grains could be increased through special fertilization, as has already been done in Finland. Studies by HORAK and LIEGENFELD (1996) showed selenium contents in Austrian grains to be between 1 and 64 µg/kg. HÖSCH (2002) provides results on the effect of selenium fertilization on cereal grains. It was proven that the content in the grains was increased by selenium fertilization in both container and field tests.

Material and methods
Field tests
Based on studies of the selenium content of various types of spelled from a field test that was carried out in 1999/2000 both at the main test field in Gumpenstein and at the Kobenz branch, a field test specifically on the subject of selenium fertilization was set up in Gumpenstein in autumn 2000. While the focus of the two field trials in 1999/2000 was on comparing different types of spelled, only three types of spelled and one type of common wheat were selected for the 2000/2001 field trial. In order to largely eliminate the annual influence, the same experiment was carried out again the following year. The experiments were designed as block systems and were repeated four times.
Location
The Gumpenstein location is characterized by the following parameters: the altitude is 710 m, the average annual temperature is 7.6°C, the annual precipitation is 1010 mm. The closed snow cover can last for over 100 days, but this has not been achieved in recent winters. The soil type is loose sediment brown earth with a pH of 5.8 and 3.9% humus. The soil type is given as 30% sand, 63% silt and 7% clay; the soil is therefore permeable and easy to work.
Fertilization
The following fertilizers were used to supply nutrients in 2001 and 2002: For the 2000/2001 experiment, the main nutrients were given in the form of a complex fertilizer with a composition of 20:8:8:3; Additionally there is the variant with and without selenium. At 375 kg/ha this resulted in: 75 kg/ha nitrogen, 30 kg/ha P2O5, 30 kg/ha K2O and 11 kg/ha MgO. Superphosphate and potassium salt 40% were added as supplements. There was also top dressing with selenium on a third of the plots. In the experiment in 2001/2002, basic fertilization with superphosphate and potash salt 40% was applied for cultivation in the fall, and nitrogen fertilization with nitramoncal was applied in the spring at the same level as in the previous year. In 2001 the selenium was released as sodium selenate; the first dose with the complex fertilizer, the second dose (only in selenium level 2) in the form of foliar fertilization. In 2002, selenium was only added through foliar fertilization.
The selenium levels were as follows: Se0: without selenium
Se1: with 6 g/Se/ha
Se2: with 12 g/Se/ha

Varieties
When selecting varieties, an attempt was made to use varieties that are widespread in practice. These certainly include the spelled varieties Ostro and Schwabenkorn, which are grown in both years, with the former being a Swiss variety and the latter being a variety from southern Germany. The third type of spelled in the 2000/2001 trial was Ebners Rotkorn, an Austrian selection; On the other hand, the ÖKO 10 variety, which was the third to be grown in the 2001/2002 trial year, is a Hungarian variety. For the comparison variety of common wheat, the Capo variety was used in both years, a quality wheat that also produces good yields in wet and transitional areas.
Other experimental conditions
Potatoes were the previous crop in the field in both experimental years.
The seed rate was 350 grains/m², which corresponds to around 240 kg/ha for spelled. However, the current germination capacity and the thousand grain weight were taken into account in the calculation.
A hacking harrow was used in early spring to control weeds.
The sowing took place in autumn 2000 on October 23rd, relatively late for a plant in the inner Alpine area. Nevertheless, the emergence of the plants could still be observed in late autumn, with them entering the winter in the 1-2 leaf stage.
The following year the experiment was completed in mid-October, exactly on October 15th. be sown. Even that autumn, the emergence of the plants could still be observed around 3 weeks later.
The harvest was carried out in mid-August, in 2001 on August 13th. in good conditions and in 2002 on August 16th. , on the first possible day after previous torrential rain.
Chemical analysis
The finely ground (Sampling
In the first year of the experiment, flag leaves were first taken at the beginning of July, and samples of both the grain and the straw were taken at the harvest. The following year, samples of the grain, straw and also the husks were only taken for analysis at the harvest .

Results
One of the most important results for grain is undoubtedly the grain yield. After the hulled grains are harvested through the threshing process, this is the grain yield actual bare grain. The yield of this is called “core yield” for spelled and is then comparable to the grain yield of common wheat.
When looking at the yields, the significantly higher yield level in 2001 compared to 2002 is immediately noticeable. This is true for both spelled - as well as in the soft wheat yields. The exceptional weather conditions were responsible for the lower yields in the second year of the experiment: very high temperatures in the spring and unusually heavy rainfall in the summer, so that the distribution of precipitation cannot be described as favorable for grain formation.
Yields
The grain and kernel yields from 2001 are shown in Figure 1, with the different names referring to spelled.

The yields in the individual selenium stages are quite similar; However, selenium fertilization was not expected to have any influence on grain yield. Within the spelled varieties, each variant has a different ranking.
What is interesting in this context is the yield of the common wheat variety Capo, which corresponds exactly to the grain yield of the spelled varieties. If this is reduced by the husk portion, the kernel yield is obtained. Depending on the variety, water content and thus the ripeness of the grains, around 30 - 40% of the original yield is produced as husks. The husk content also varies greatly; The range extends from 31.9% at selenium level 0 in the Ebners Rotkorn variety to 41.7% at selenium level 1 in the Schwabenkorn variety.
Figure 2 shows the returns from 2002. It is noticeable that not a single value comes close to the earnings from the previous year. Not even the spelled grain yields from 2002 come anywhere close to the core yields from 2001. This year the Capo variety is still more than 500 kg/ha higher than the grain yields of the spelled varieties. If you look at the de-husked grains, the absolute highest value for the Schwabenkorn variety can be found in selenium level 2 with almost 24 dt/ha. The husk content does not reach 30% in any variant.

Figure 3 shows the straw yield with 86% DM of the individual varieties from both trial years. In 2001, the soft wheat variety had a significantly lower straw yield than the long-straw spelled varieties. The Schwabenkorn variety has the highest straw yield in all three selenium levels; this is over 50 dt/ha. For the other two types of spelled, there is no clear ranking within the selenium levels.
In 2002 straw yields are higher, but so are those from soft wheat. In selenium levels 1 and 2, the straw yields of the Capo variety are the absolute highest, while in selenium level 0 the straw yield is the lowest for the same variety.
An influence of selenium fertilization on straw yield is no more expected than with grain; However, differences in varieties can be seen.
Selenium content
The following provides information about the selenium content of the individual parts of the plant.

This shows that the difference between the zero level and the supply of 6 g/ha of selenium via the soil is significantly smaller than between the selenium levels 1 and 2, in which the remaining 6 g/ha of selenium was provided via foliar fertilization. The differences are highly significant for both flag leaves and grains. A difference in variety could only be found between Capo and the three types of spelled.
When it comes to the grains, the differences are not nearly as big, as shown in Figure 5. As a clear result, it can be said that the selenium content of the Capo variety in all three selenium levels is below that of the spelled varieties. The trend is that foliar application is likely to be more effective in increasing content than soil application.
The selenium removals of the variants, which include grain and straw, range on average between 103 (Se0), 562 (Se1) and 1098 (Se2) mg/ha in 2001. The majority of the selenium is eliminated in the two variants fertilized with selenium Selenium removal on the grains.

Conclusion for practice
Since the natural selenium content of grain produced in Austria, but also in the rest of Europe, is very low, various projects have attempted to increase the selenium content through selenium fertilization. Selenium is an essential trace element that must be supplied to the human body in an amount of around 50 - 100 µg daily. The average selenium intake in Germany is around 40 - 60 µg and is therefore on the border of a deficiency. Selenium contents of wheat produced in North America can be 10 to 20 times higher than European wheat. If the selenium content of spelled was significantly higher than that of common wheat, new opportunities could arise for spelled.
In the project described above, the differences in selenium content between the spelled varieties found in preliminary tests could no longer be confirmed with targeted selenium application.
However, even with small amounts of selenium (6 to 12 g/ha) in the form of sodium selenate, the selenium content of the grains can easily be increased to the nutritionally desirable range.
The degree of utilization of selenium is rather modest; At the time of harvest, grains and straw together only contain around 7% of the selenium applied.

Literature
AICHBERGER, K. and GF HOFER (1989): Arsenic, mercury and selenium contents of agricultural soils in Upper Austria. Soil culture, 40, 1-11.
BZI, 1994: Lower Austrian Soil Condition Inventory, Office of the Lower Austrian State Government, Vienna.
CLAMOT, G. (1984): Genetic Variability of the Protein and Lysine Content of Spelt (Triticum spelta). Journal of Plant Breeding, 93, 106-114.
HÖSCH, J., (2002): Influence of fertilization on the selenium absorption of grain. Report on the ALVA annual conference 2002 in Klosterneuburg, 381-384.
HORAK, O. and R. LIEGENFELD (1996): Studies on selenium transfer from soil to grain. VDLUFA - Series of publications, 44, 687-690, conference proceedings, 1996.
HÖSEL, W. (1989): Scope of cultivation, utilization, production technology and economics of spelled cultivation in southern Germany. Bavarian. agricultural Yearbook, 60, 501-507.
JACQUOT, R.; ADRIAN, J. and A. RERAT (1960): A forgotten type of grain: spelled. Journal for agriculture and crop production, 274-288.
JOHNSSON, L. (1991): Trends and annual fluctuations in selenium concentrations in wheat grain. Plant and Soil, 138, 67-73.
MAYER, IM (1998): Selenium and its importance for human nutrition. Consumer Services, 11, 632-636.
MOUDRY, J. and V. DVORACEK (1999): Chemical composition of grain of different spelt (Triticum spelta L.) varieties. Rostlinna Vyroba, 45 (12), 533-538.
MÜLLER-WETTLAUFER, G.; SCHWEIZER, Th. and W. HAUBOLD (1989): On the selenium content of the grain examined. Proceedings of the 1st Dinkel Colloquium, held at the University of Hohenheim on July 29, 1988, published by the Dinkelacker Foundation, 1st volume, 371-377.
RÖMPP (1990): Chemical lexicon, published by Thieme Verlag, 9th edition, 5th volume, 4105
SEIBEL, W. (1989): Possible uses of spelled wheat milled products in the production of small pastries, bread and pasta. Proceedings of the 1st Dinkel Colloquium, held at the University of Hohenheim on July 29, 1988, published by the Dinkelacker Foundation, 1st volume, 95-109.
WINZELER, H. and A. RÜEGGER (1991): Spelled: Renaissance of an old grain. Agriculture Switzerland, Volume 3 (9), 503-511.
ZELLER, O. (1987): Dinkel or spelled, the former Swabian grain. Demeter leaves, 42, 3-6.
ZÜLLIG, M. (1984): Comparison of selected ingredients between spelled and wheat. Investigation report from the Research Institute for Organic Agriculture, Bernhardsberg.