Cultivating Crops as Alternative Protein Sources: Exploring Three Diverse Cereal Grain Varieties

Abstract

Protein-based plants, a key trend in food system transformation, hold immense potential to foster a sustainable and nutritious food system cycle. This research, which compares three ancient cereal grain varieties, aims to address pressing issues of environmental degradation, food security, and public health. The findings from these alternative protein sources promise nutritional benefits and offer diversity cultivation advantages, inspiring a promising future for our food systems and public health.
The study stands out for its meticulous examination of cereal grain varieties, including proso millet (Gyöngyszem, Biserka, and Rumenka), winter wheat (SE15), and buckwheat (Hajnalka). These distinct varieties, registered with the Institute of  Research and Study Farm, University of Debrecen, Nyíregyháza, were subjected to diverse cropping systems under the control of N fertilizer, particularly (N 27 % CAN), with a rate of (80 kg N/ha - 300 kg/ha CAN), applied for each cereal grain for the 2021 and 2022 cultivation seasons. The statistical results, which showed a significant variance attributed to a variety group  (P ≤ 0.05), confirm confidence in the reliability of the findings.
Accordingly, the results revealed that the crude protein contents fluctuated among the tested varieties. They were 16.7 g/kg to 19.0 g/kg for proso millet varieties, 19.3 g/kg for winter wheat, and 17.4 g/kg for buckwheat. However, the extra crude protein in the buckwheat crop was linked to the adverse effect of the amount of N fertilizer used. This was evident as the control sample measured 18.4 g/kg and then dropped to 16.5 g/kg, indicating a negative correlation between N fertilizer and protein content. The findings also indicated that Hungarian proso millet varieties have abundant protein contents, which was a reason to examine the colour profile and sort the three respective varieties based on the varied colour profiles, which can contribute to predicting the physical properties that can affect of developed final product.
Overall, protein-based plants are emerging strategies that could contribute to the green revolution, SDGs targeting, quarantine of natural food sources, and protection against uncommunicable diseases, moreover, supporting that the finding outcomes could benefit the breeders, nutritionists, and industrial sector in a wide manner.