The root grain, triticale, could trace its ancestry back to 20th century Canada. However, Pavel Chekov claimed, as he was wont to do, that "it [was] a Russian invention." In 2268, Nilz Baris, the Federation agricultural undersecretary, transported several tons of quadrotriticale to Deep Space K-7, intending to send it to Sherman's Planet for the purpose of developing it as an agrarian colony. He ordered Captain James T. Kirk, then commanding officer of the USS Enterprise, to protect the grain. This grain was superseded by quintotriticale by 2269. (TAS: "More Tribbles, More Troubles")