Triticale (X Triticosecale Wittmack) is the fi rst man-made cereal grain crop species designed to merge the positive attributes of wheat and rye into a single plant. Triticale possesses wheat's functional characteristics for food production and rye's adaptability to non-optimal growing environments. Triticale offers a better amino acid balance, mainly due to the high lysine content, resulting in a greater biological value than wheat protein. Nowadays, triticale is not much used in the baking industry internationally, due to its low gluten content, although triticale fl our blends of up to 50 % with wheat fl ours produce bread of appreciable quality. In malting and brewing, triticale performs well due to its high level of α-amylase activity. Presently, triticale also represents the most effi cient crop for bio-ethanol production when compared with wheat and rye.