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Cereal

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Food and agriculture;
Plants

   Oats, barley, and some products made from them
   Enlarge
   Oats, barley, and some products made from them

   Cereal crops are mostly grasses cultivated for their edible grains or
   seeds (technically a type of fruit called a caryopsis). Cereal grains
   are grown in greater quantities worldwide than any other type of crop
   and provide more food energy to the human race than any other crop. In
   some developing nations, cereal grains constitute practically the
   entire diet of common folk. In developed nations, cereal consumption is
   more moderate but still substantial. The word cereal derives from
   Ceres, the name of the Roman goddess of harvest and agriculture. Grains
   are traditionally called corn in the United Kingdom, though that word
   became specified for maize in the United States, Canada, New Zealand,
   and Australia.

Production

   The following table shows annual production of major cereal grains, in
   1961 and 2005, ranked by 2005 production. All but buckwheat and quinoa
   are true grasses (these two are pseudocereals).
   Grain 2005 ( Mt) 1961 (Mt)
   Maize 654,575,552 205,004,683 A staple food of peoples in North
   America, South America, and Africa and of livestock worldwide; called
   "corn" or "Indian corn" in North America and Australia.
   Wheat 628,101,605 222,357,231 The primary cereal of temperate regions
   Rice 618,534,989 284,654,697 The primary cereal of tropical regions
   Barley 137,384,263 72,411,104 Grown for malting and livestock on land
   too poor or too cold for wheat
   Sorghums 58,620,842 40,931,625 Important staple food in Asia and Africa
   and popular worldwide for livestock
   Millets 27,388,444 25,703,968 A group of similar but distinct cereals
   that form an important staple food in Asia and Africa.
   Oats 23,972,508 49,588,769 Formerly the staple food of Scotland and
   popular worldwide for livestock
   Rye 15,605,370 35,109,990 Important in cold climates
   Triticale 13,473,141 0 Hybrid of wheat and rye, grown similarly to rye
   Buckwheat 2,529,794 2,478,596 Used in Europe and Asia. Major uses
   include various pancakes and groats
   Fonio 264,508 178,483 Several varieties of which are grown as food
   crops in Africa
   Quinoa 51,152 32,435 Ancient pseudocereal, grown in the Andes

   Maize, wheat and rice, between them, accounted for 87% of all grain
   production, worldwide, and 43% of all food calories in 2003. Other
   grains that are important in some places, but that have little
   production globally (and are not included in FAO statistics), include:
     * Teff, popular in Ethiopia but scarcely known elsewhere
     * Wild rice, grown in small amounts in North America
     * Spelt, a close relative of wheat
     * Grain amaranth, ancient pseudocereal, formerly the staple crop of
       the Aztec Empire
     * Kañiwa, close relative of quinoa, to which it is quite similar

Cultivation

   A wheat field in Dorset, England.
   Enlarge
   A wheat field in Dorset, England.

   While each individual species has its own peculiarities, the
   cultivation of all cereals crops is similar. All are annual plants;
   consequently one planting yields one harvest. Wheat, rye, triticale,
   oats, barley, and spelt are the cool-season cereals. These are hardy
   plants that grow well in moderate weather and cease to grow in hot
   weather (approximately 30  °C but this varies by species and variety).
   The other warm-season cereals are tender and prefer hot weather.

   Barley and rye are the hardiest cereals, able to overwinter in the
   subarctic and Siberia. Wheat is the most popular. All cool-season
   cereals are grown in the tropics, but only in the cool highlands, where
   it may be possible to grow multiple crops in a year.

Planting

   The warm-season cereals are grown in tropical lowlands year-round and
   in temperate climates during the frost-free season.

   Cool-season cereals are well-adapted to temperate climates. Most
   varieties of a particular species are either winter or spring types.
   Winter varieties are sown in the autumn, germinate and grow
   vegetatively, then become dormant during winter. They resume growing in
   the springtime and mature in late spring or early summer. This
   cultivation system makes optimal use of water and frees the land for
   another crop early in the growing season. Winter varieties do not
   flower until springtime because they require vernalization (exposure to
   low temperature for a genetically determined length of time). Where
   winters are too warm for vernalization or exceed the hardiness of the
   crop (which varies by species and variety), farmers grow spring
   varieties. Spring cereals are planted in early springtime and mature
   later that same summer, without vernalization. Spring cereals typically
   require more irrigation and yield less than winter cereals.

Harvest

   Once the cereal plants have grown their seeds, they have completed
   their life cycle. The plants die and become brown and dry. As soon as
   the parent plants and their seed kernels are reasonably dry, harvest
   can begin.

   In developed countries, cereal crops are universally machine-harvested,
   typically using a combine harvester, which cuts, threshes, and winnows
   the grain during a single pass across the field. In developing
   countries, a variety of harvesting methods are in use, from combines to
   hand tools such as scythes.

   If a crop is harvested during wet weather, the grain may not dry
   adequately in the field to prevent spoilage during its storage. In this
   case, the grain is sent to a dehydrating facility, where artificial
   heat dries it.

   In North America, farmers commonly deliver their newly harvested grain
   to a grain elevator, a large storage facility that consolidates the
   crops of many farmers. The farmer may sell the grain at the time of
   delivery or maintain ownership of a share of grain in the pool for
   later sale.

Food value

   Chickens are often fed grains such as wheat
   Enlarge
   Chickens are often fed grains such as wheat

   Cereal grains supply most of their food energy as starch. They are also
   a significant source of protein, though the amino acid balance is not
   optimal. Whole grains (see below) are good sources of dietary fibre,
   essential fatty acids, and other important nutrients.

   Rice is eaten as cooked entire grains, although rice flour is also
   produced. Oats are rolled, ground, or cut into bits (steel-cut oats)
   and cooked into porridge. Most other cereals are ground into flour or
   meal, that is milled. The outer layers of bran and germ are removed
   (see seed). This lessens the nutritional value but makes the grain more
   resistant to degradation and makes the grain more appealing to many
   palates. Health-conscious people tend to prefer whole grains, which are
   not milled. Overconsumption of milled cereals is sometimes blamed for
   obesity. Milled grains do keep better because the outer layers of the
   grains are rich in rancidity-prone fats. The waste from milling is
   sometimes mixed into a prepared animal feed.

   Once (optionally) milled and ground, the resulting flour is made into
   bread, pasta, desserts, dumplings, and many other products. Besides
   cereals, flour is sometimes made from potatoes, chestnuts and pulses
   (especially chickpeas).

   Cereals are the main source of energy providing about 350 kcal per 100
   grams. Cereal proteins are typically poor in nutritive quality, being
   deficient in essential amino acid lysine. The proteins of maize are
   particularly poor, being deficient in lysine and tryptophan (a
   precursor of niacin). Rice proteins are richer in lysine than other
   common cereal proteins and for this reason, rice protein is considered
   to be of better quality. Rice is a good source of B group vitamins,
   especially thiamine. It is devoid of vitamins A, D, C and is a poor
   source of calcium and iron.

   Certain grains, including quinoa and grain amaranth, are exceptionally
   nutrious. Quinoa was classified as a "supercrop" by the United Nations
   because of its high protein content (12-18%). Quinoa contains a
   balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it an
   unusually complete foodstuff.

   In English, cold breakfast cereals and porridges are simply called
   cereal.

Feed Value

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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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