gluten-related disorders, such as celiac disease, non-celiac gluten sensitivity and wheat allergy sufferers, among others. Requirements for climate and soil A temperate continental climate with cold nights in the early spring (see vernalisation), low to moderate precipitation rates (500–1,000 mm per year), and a sunny warm summer for optimal ripening are therefore the typical preferred climatic conditions of Khorasan wheat. These conditions are very similar to those of durum wheat, which originates in the same region. But, because breeding efforts for Khorasan wheat have been very sparse (see chapter below), the adaptation to other climatic conditions is still limited. Khorasan wheat is especially known for its drought tolerance, which is even better than that of durum wheat. Too much precipitation, especially in the end of the season, usually leads to dramatic disease problems (see section below). Soils typically used for Khorasan wheat are the same as for durum wheat: deep friable black clays with a certain water storing capacity, also known as vertisols. Cultivation management, harvest and post-harvest treatment The cultivation practices are quite similar to other wheat species, especially durum. As most of the Khorasan wheat is organically produced, the nutrient supply (especially nitrogen) should be granted by using an appropriate crop rotation, such as previous pasture legumes. The nutritional content of Khorasan wheat is the most important characteristic of this crop and the reason why it is cultivated. Therefore, the nutrition supply is one of the critical aspects of this production. Harvest in general follows the same procedure as in the other wheat species. As soon as the grains are mature, a combine harvester threshes the Khorasan wheat. But contrary to common wheat, the seeds of Khorasan wheat are very brittle and crack in half very easily, which leads to a necessarily more gentle harvest and post-harvest treatment. Thinking of post-harvest treatments, the special physical properties of the Khorasan grain may cause difficulties (literature on that topic is still scarce). Storage may be more difficult because of a higher water capacity of the grains, the milling has to be adapted because of the big grains (should not be a problem in modern mills, in general) and the whole transportation machinery must deal with higher weight, because the Thousand Kernel Weight (TKW) is very high. Growth, development, physiology Khorasan wheat is a tetraploid wheat subspecies, which means that the general biological properties resemble those of durum wheat. Diseases The