Characteristics of durum wheat used for pasta

Durum wheat is an important species of wheat. It is a cereal with the same genus and with origin alike to bread wheat. A tetraploid with genomes related to wheat. Durum wheat has a diverse environment compared with bread wheat and well adapted in semiarid regions. Global production of durum is 6–8% to the production of bread wheat production. It has high protein content with hard grain texture vitreous and amber-colored. A special niche of durum is used as a food crop for making couscous, pasta, burghul and other various traditional dishes. The main of durum breeding include higher protein content with disease Resistance, more grain weight, higher grain vitreous, low screenings, higher semolina yield and color, improved pasta-making features with stronger dough characteristics. Durum is a self-pollinated crop and hence pedigree breeding is the most recommended method for its breeding. The prevailing diseases of durum are crown rot, Fusarium head blight, stripe, leaf, and stem rusts. Nitrogen nutrition is an important aspect of durum cultivation as grain quality and protein content reflect the price for farmers and ultimately increased its market value. The future of durum appears to be very good due to an increase in the production of pasta.