The growing interest in old durum wheat cultivars, due to enhanced consumer attention on healthy, traditional products and low-input agricultural systems, partly relies on their different quality characteristics compared to modern cultivars. Nine Italian durum wheat cultivars from different breeding periods were compared in two late-sown (January) field trials in order to subject their grain filling period to high temperatures similar to those expected in the future. Late sowing moved anthesis forward by about 10 days and increased the mean temperature during grain filling by 1.3 °C compared to that obtained when using the common sowing period of November–December. In these conditions, old cultivars were on average less productive than modern ones (2.36 vs. 3.54 tons ha⁻¹, respectively), had a higher protein percentage (13.8% vs. 11.1%), a lower gluten index (24.3% vs. 56.3%), and a lower alveographic W (baking strength) (64 vs. 100 J 10⁻⁴). The differences were partly associated to variations in the gliadins:glutenins ratio. It depended on the genotype whether the grain and semolina protein percentage and gluten strength compensated one another in terms of alveographic indices to give the dough a strength similar to that of the modern cultivars in the range of moderately high temperatures, which resulted from delayed sowing. Further studies aimed at exploring the genetic variability of quality traits in the large genetic pool represented by the several Italian old and intermediate durum wheat cultivars still available are therefore advisable.

Sustainability of animal production requires reducing reliance on soybean meal by identifying viable alternative protein sources. Within the framework of the Italian Agritech National Research Center, seven Italian research groups collaborated to evaluate unconventional feed ingredients and their effects on animal performance and product quality. Alternative legume seeds (peas, chickpeas, faba bean, and lupins) can partially or completely replace soybean meal without impairing productivity, while enhancing product health value and shelf-life through bioactive compounds. Microalgae (Chlorella, Spirulina) improved carotenoid content, antioxidant activity, fatty acid profile, and cholesterol levels in poultry products, with limited effects in pigs. Insects supported optimal growth in fish at 25–30% inclusion, whereas maximum recommended levels are 15% in broilers and 24% in laying hens to sustain growth, egg production, and quality. Camelina by-products are suitable for poultry diets at up to 5–10%, beyond which performance declines. Whole-plant soybean silage, tef (Eragrostis tef), and triticale–lupin intercropping represent promising protein-rich resources for ruminants, provided diets maintain balanced protein-to-energy ratios, adequate fibre characteristics, and appropriate harvest timing under drought-prone conditions. Collectively, these findings highlight the potential of diverse protein sources to improve the sustainability of livestock systems while preserving productivity and enhancing the nutritional quality of animal-derived foods.

Comparisons among species can be a valuable approach to identifying traits important for plant breeding. Differences between 2 durum wheat (Duilio and Creso) and 1 triticale (Antares) cultivar have been analysed in a 2-year field trial in Sardinia (Italy), in order to define a more productive durum wheat ideotype for Mediterranean-type environments. The greater grain yield (569 v. 447 g/m2) and the lower protein percentage (9.2 v. 10.6%) of triticale cv. Antares compared with the durum wheat cultivars, at a similar level of biomass produced at heading, were analysed in terms of number of grains per unit surface and rate and duration of dry matter (DM) and nitrogen (N) accumulation, calculated from a logistic curve. When the single grains were considered, Antares showed a lower rate but a longer duration of DM and N accumulation in the more favourable season, resulting in lower DM (40 v. 54 mg) and N (0.7 v. 1.0 mg) contents in the grain. On the other hand, when data were expressed on a per unit surface basis, the greater spike fertility of Antares (53 v. 39 grains per spike) and its longer duration of accumulation, were responsible for similar or even greater amounts of DM and N accumulated in the grains per m2. Growth rate of single grains, although able to explain differences in single grain weight, cannot explain differences in grain weight per m2 and hence in yield, which mainly result from variation in the number of grains per spike. Nitrogen percentage of the grains decreased from the maximum values observed at the beginning of grain filling, until a constant final value attained before the end of DM and N accumulation. Rate is more important than duration in determining the quality characteristics of grains, as higher grain weights and protein percentages correspond to higher rates of DM and N accumulation.

The leading role of Italy in the cultivation of durum wheat stimulated intense breeding activities in the country from the beginning of the 20th century, much earlier than in any other country involved in durum wheat production. Older, genetically more heterogeneous landraces were replaced with new, highly productive, superior quality varieties, and this led to an inevitable reduction in the overall genetic diversity among new cultivars, which makes the genetic variability preserved in old cultivars particularly valuable and important. The aim of this paper was to assist future breeding programs by providing a detailed description of the history of durum wheat breeding in Italy and of the changes in yield, quality, and related traits that subsequently occurred, starting from the most diffuse landraces present between 1900 and 1920 up until the present day. The parallel evolution of breeding techniques, breeding goals, and agricultural systems in this period is also described, and some future breeding goals suggested. In the current context of climate change and of rapidly mutating pathogen populations, preserving the yield level through the continuous introduction of new cultivars by exploiting the reservoir of largely unused genetic variation stored in old cultivars and landraces could be as important as increasing grain yield and quality.