CERTIFIED SEED WHEAT.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20037, 19 September 1930, Page 16

CERTIFIED SEED WHEAT.

DEMAND INCREASING. MACHINE-DRESSING NOW COMPULSORY. "There is no doubt that the farmers are now realising the importance and value of sowing only the purest, best, and cleanest class of seed wheat, even at a slightly increased cost. Tlub opinion is amply borne out by the heavy demand this season." Such was the comment contained, in the report on seed wheat certification made by Mr J. W. Hadfield, agronomist to the Agricultural Department, which came before yesterday's meeting of the*, committee of the Wheat .Research Institute*. The committee resolved that no wheat could, in future, be certified befoie it was machine-dressed to clean it of weed seeds and other impurities. The report also showed that Mr H. 13. Vcitch, Government grader at Christchurch, had certified 14,830 bushels of seed wheat which had been resold, or kept by farmers for tlieir own use. The cost of dressed wheat at the main Canterbury centres had been— Ch.-ch. Ash'n. Timaru. Oaraaru. ». d. a. d. s. d. s. d. Tuscan ..7 3 7 23 7 14 7 QJ Hunters .. 7 4J 7 5J 7• 3i 7 7J "Certification should always be subject to machine-dressing," said Mr VV. W. Mulholland. "Otherwise we are gonig so far to ensure pure seed wheat bcinp- obtained only to spoil our efforts if< we allow seed to go out which is certified and which yet contains weed seeds and other impurities. In some cases farmers are exchanging seed wheat among themselves without it having been dressed; at any rate, that is possible while we allow certified seed wheat to go out without being dressed." It was decided to insist on machinedressing as one of the preliminaries necessary to certification.