Thanks to their low fertilization requirements and high consumer demand, ancient wheats and old durum wheat cultivars represent an attractive option for the marginal areas of Mediterranean environments no longer cultivated due to the low grain yields attainable using modern wheat cultivars. Dual-purpose utilization may increase their value in these cropping systems, but no information is available on the suitability of ancient wheat species to this type of utilization. To fill this gap, Khorasan, einkorn, and emmer wheats, clipped at the terminal spikelet stage or left unclipped, were compared in a two-year field trial. The grains were sown in the month of October, in Sardinia (41°N, 80 m asl), Italy, on low-fertility soils and with low-medium fertilization rates. Einkorn cultivars produced the highest biomass yield (2–3 t ha⁻¹), reflecting the longer time to the onset of the terminal spikelet stage (119–138 days). After clipping, all species recovered their ability to intercept radiation to the levels of the unclipped crops, but clipping lowered their radiation use-efficiency. Grain yield was not penalized by clipping: the increase in the harvest index compensated for the decrease in biomass. Here we show for the first time that ancient wheat species are suitable for dual-purpose utilization (herbage plus grain in the same season) rendering them valuable for marginal areas; this was because the early sowing adopted for dual-purpose utilization allowed them to take full advantage of their lateness in terms of herbage yield, and to bring flowering forward (i.e. make it earlier) so that a satisfactory grain yield was obtained, even under severe water stress. Dual-purpose utilization of ancient wheats increases the sustainability of mixed cropping systems, by making herbage available to animals in a critical period, without decreasing the grain yield attainable after grazing in the same season.

由于其较低的施肥要求和较高的消费者需求，古老的小麦和老硬粒小麦品种代表了由于现代小麦品种可获得的低谷产量而不再种植的地中海边缘地区的诱人选择。双重用途的利用可能会增加它们在这些种植系统中的价值，但尚无有关古代小麦品种适合此类利用的信息。为了填补这一空白，在一项为期两年的田间试验中比较了在终生小穗期修剪的或未修剪的Khorasan，einkorn和emmer小麦。谷物于10月份在意大利撒丁岛（41°N，80 m asl）上播种在低肥沃的土壤上，施肥水平低。Einkorn品种的生物质产量最高（2-3 t公顷^-1），反映出末期小穗期开始的时间较长（119-138天）。修剪后，所有物种恢复了拦截辐射的能力，达到未修剪作物的水平，但是修剪降低了其辐射利用效率。修剪不会对谷物的产量造成不利影响：收获指数的增加补偿了生物量的减少。在这里，我们首次展示了古老的小麦品种适合于双重用途（同一季节的牧草和谷物），从而使其在边缘地区具有价值。这是因为采用双重用途的早播技术使他们可以充分利用晚牧草的产量，并提前开花（即早播），即使在严酷的条件下也能获得令人满意的谷物产量缺水。