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Background and objectives: Tritordeum, a cereal obtained by crossing a durum wheat and a wild barley, has attracted interest for its suitability as a functional food crop, but the phenolic compounds present in the grain and the agronomic effect of crop year on levels of phenolics have yet to be elucidated. The objective of the present three‐year study was to analyze the agronomic aspects and phenolic acid content of five Tritordeum lines grown in Southern Italy. Findings: Agronomical results showed the good potential of this cereal that can be considered a promising species for this environment, highlighting that at present the Tritordeum JB1, HT444, and HT621 resulted in higher values than durum wheat for most of the grain parameters (harvest index, height of plant, test weight, 1,000‐kernel weight, and protein content) and phenolic content (gallic, p‐hydroxybenzoic, chlorogenic, and gentisic). Despite until recent days limited information is available about the concentration and the composition of phenolic acids in Tritordeum, twelve phenolic acids were identified across the genotypes. Conclusions: Tritordeum showed a relevant concentration of free phenolic acids and in particular HT621 contains the highest amounts of ferulic and sinapic acids. Moreover, cinnamic and gentisic acids have been reported in Tritordeum grain for the first time, being reported only in other cereals. Significance and novelty: To our knowledge, no other studies have reported as complete a phenolic profile of the species. Tritordeum has good potential for the production of food products rich in phenolic compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: We investigated three old wheats (Triticum dicoccum, Triticum durum, Triticum spelta) for effects of organic and conventional cultivation under equivalent nitrogen fertilisation (100 kg ha−1) on antioxidant content and composition, and on quality traits. RESULTS: Compared to conventional cultivation, organic cultivation had positive effects on test weight, while grain quality traits of protein content, gluten content and sodium dodecyl sulphate microsedimentation volume were 19.2%, 9.3% and 22.7% lower, respectively. Despite lower protein content with organic cultivation, this was still high (147 g kg−1); thus with adequate organic nitrogen fertilisation, the quality traits related to the technological properties of flour were maintained. Total phenolic content (TPC) was significantly higher for organic versus conventional cultivation, although free and bound phenolic acids were not significantly different. With discriminant analysis, only durum wheat differentiated the qualitative and compositional traits according to cultivation system. Separation of organic versus conventional cultivation in durum wheat and emmer was strongly affected by antioxidants (antioxidant capacity, TPC, yellow pigment content), dietary fibre, protein content and test weight. CONCLUSIONS: With adequate organic nitrogen fertilisation, protein and gluten contents remain high enough for good quality pasta. However, except for TPC, organic cultivation did not affect phenolic acids profile and antioxidant activity. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]