History Common wheat was first domesticated in
West Asia during the early
Holocene, and spread from there to North Africa, Europe and East Asia in the prehistoric period. Naked wheats (including
Triticum aestivum,
T. durum, and
T. turgidum) were found in Roman burial sites ranging from 100 BCE to 300 CE. , Germany|alt=Field in
Deggendorf, Germany Wheat first reached
North America with Spanish missions in the 16th century, but North America's role as a major exporter of grain dates from the colonization of the
prairies in the 1870s. As grain exports from Russia ceased during
World War I, grain production in
Kansas doubled. Worldwide, bread wheat has proved well adapted to modern industrial
baking, and has displaced many of the other wheat,
barley, and
rye species that were once commonly used for
bread making, particularly in Europe.
Plant breeding Modern wheat varieties have been selected for short stems, the result of RHt dwarfing genes that reduce the plant's sensitivity to
gibberellic acid, a plant hormone that lengthens cells. RHt genes were introduced to modern wheat varieties in the 1960s by
Norman Borlaug from
Norin 10 cultivars of wheat grown in
Japan. Short stems are important because the application of high levels of chemical fertilizers would otherwise cause the stems to grow too high, resulting in lodging (collapse of the stems). Stem heights are also even, which is important for modern harvesting techniques. == Other forms of common wheat ==