Table 1.1

The major monocotyledonous (cereal) species listed in approximate order of economic significance

⁎World production and international trade (in millions of tonnes)

Source: FAOSTAT data, November, 2009 (www.fao.org)

1.2.1 Grains in our diet

The cereal grains are produced by plants of the grass family (Poaceae or Gramineae). The species of agricultural significance are wheat, triticale, rye, barley, oats, maize, rice, sorghum and the millets. These are the grains described in this book. They are listed in approximate order of production volume in Table 1.1. Most important are wheat, rice and maize (corn).

The cereal group of plants has been very successful in contributing to mankind’s food needs. The success is indicated by the cultivation of many trillions of cereal plants worldwide (probably over 1012), resulting in an annual harvest totalling over 2.2 billion tonnes of cereal grain each year.

This level of production equates approximately to one kilogram of grain per person per day for the world’s population. However, world hunger does not reflect this statistic, because of the vast distances between the major production regions and the areas of human need, and because of the considerable amounts of grain used for industrial processing and animal feeding.

An assortment of cereal grains is illustrated in Fig. 1.1. The word ‘grain’ relates to the use of this part of the grass plant by mankind. In contrast, the word ‘seed’ relates to the plant’s means of producing another plant, thereby perpetuating the species. The words ‘kernel’ and ‘caryopsis’ are botanical terms for the grain. ‘Kernel’ is a relatively general term. The ‘caryopsis’ is defined as ‘a one-seeded indehiscent fruit in which the pericarp is fused with a seedcoat’. The grains of cereal grasses represent an entire fruit, and the term ‘caryopsis’ is generally limited to the cereal grains (as distinct from the grains of various dicot species).

The cereal grains share one central attribute that accounts for their success both in perpetuating themselves and in serving the needs of mankind; that characteristic is their ability to remain intact as a store of nutrients for long periods of time. For the seed, this period extends from the time that the mature plant sheds its dry seed until the ‘rainy day’, when the seed encounters moisture, triggering the processes of germination, sprouting and plant growth; in this way, the cycle of plant-seed reproduction goes on. The waiting period of the apparently dead seed may be long or short, depending on the timing of the ‘rainy day’. Safe storage of the seed’s nutrients throughout this waiting period is essential to the plant’s survival, irrespective of the conditions that may occur before the right combination of moisture and temperature arrives to initiate the germination response.

The ability of seed-bearing plants to preserve these stores of nutrients for long periods was the major reason for our ancient ancestors’ interest in the cereals as a food source. The harvested grain could be stored ready for the metaphorical ‘rainy day’, such as winter time, when other food sources were not available. In the same way, the storability of grains makes them an essential food source for us today.

1.2.2 Grains in our culture

Because the storability of grains helped ancient man to survive the ‘rainy day’ periods of his existence, the cereal grains were a major catalyst in transforming Homo sapiens from a hunter-gatherer into an agriculturalist, permitting ancient people to remain in one place, harvesting intentionally sown grain. As a result, fixed dwelling places were established near cereal crops, using the stored grain as a reliable source of food for family and feed for animals. This agricultural existence thus laid the foundations of a civilisation that could find spare time for the building of permanent dwellings, for cultural activities and for specialisation of occupation.

Grains have been recognised as an important food source since pre-history. The ongoing propagation and improvement of seed-bearing plants were important phases in the development of mankind. The selection of plant species that best suited our food needs commenced from those times. These activities continued on to the selection of genotypes with superior attributes, such as improved grain size, disease resistance and processing quality.

1.2.3 Grains in our language and festivities

Our intimate and long-lasting relationships with the cereal grains, with wheat especially and with grain-based foods, are indicated by the many ways in which they enter in our culture and vocabulary, becoming symbols of social interaction. As examples, ‘Give us this day our daily bread’, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone’, and ‘Cast thy bread upon the waters’ are everyday expressions in English derived from the Bible. There are equivalent expressions in other languages, cultures and religions.

Centuries ago, celebration of the grain harvest in Western Europe was justification for celebration and thanksgiving by farmers and villagers. This tradition was carried by the settlers in North America, leading to the traditional Thanksgiving Day celebrations of the USA and Canada.

In Eastern Europe, the completion of the grain harvest is a great occasion for celebration, known as ‘dozynki’ in Poland. Traditionally, villagers donned colourful folk costumes, sang and played instruments for the lord and lady of the manor, presenting wreaths made of corn, wheat stalks and flowers, together with bread baked from the freshly harvested wheat. Figure 1.2 illustrates how these traditions are perpetuated even today. Year round, these cultures continue to show reverence to cereal-based foods, for example by the presentation of a loaf of bread to an honoured...