SEED BARLEY.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 19813, 28 December 1929, Page 15

SEED BARLEY.

THE HOT-WATER TREATMENT. Some interesting experiments have been carried out on the Canterbury Seed Company's farms at Leeston and Lake road with a view to ascertaining the effect of the hot-water treatment of seed barley. The difference in value, per acre, between the treated and untreated Archer-Spratt and Chevalier barlevs is officially given by >tr C. BJ. Hewlett as follows: Archer Spratt: Increased value of treated, as compared with untreated, £3 12s 3d ; Chevalier : Increased value of treated as compared with untreated, £2 9s 9d. Although the treated Chevalier and Archer-Spratt gave an increase in both yield and quality, the treated Plumage did not do as well as the untreated. One lot of Plumage was drowned out and the other was sown too late. In 1925 over 400 acres of various varieties of directly treated seed were grown: the drills were cleaned out and disinfected with a strong solution of formalin; the reapers and binders were treated in the same manner before reaping operations vcerc commenced, and the threshing machines were similarly dealt with. This was done with a view to preventing reinfection of the product, so as to enable sufficient seed to be saved to provide enough "once removed" seed to sow the whole of the Canterbury barley crops for the 1928-29 season, and thus eliminate the smuts from the bulk of the malting-harley crops of Canterbury. The method of tieatment was as follows: —A pro-soak of five to six bonis in water 60deg to 70deg F.. followed by a dip of five minutes in water held at 127derr F. The treated ArcherSpratt seed yielded 79.6 bushels per acre, and the untreated 64.7 bushels. The treated Chevalier yielded 67.4 bushels per acre, and the untreated ■>5.2 bushels. These figures are for firsts only. All treated seed was free from smut. Experiments are being continued season with barley, wheat, and oats. Result* so far show that the treated ?eed has produced an improvement both in quality and quantity