WHEAT RESEARCH

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20037, 19 September 1930, Page 8

WHEAT RESEARCH

COMMITTEE OF INSTITUTE MEETS.--The committee "of' the "Wheat liesearch Institute, held its quarterly meeting at Canterbury College yesterday. •-Present: Dr. H. G. Denham (chairman),vDr. F. W. Hilgendorf (director), Messrs R. J. pyon, J. . 11. Deneh,' A.,J. Jones,' F. N* Hawker, C. E. Boon, A\'. W. Mulhqlland, _ James Carr. and F. 11. Callaghan (secretary). The Board decided to appoint an understudy to Mr H.,E, West as soon as finance .was available. The chairman said that-' this should be the first. call on any available money. They were asking Mr West -to do more than was reasonable for'any one man. A locally-trained man was necessary to assist, so.that if Mr West happened.to bo away, for any \. length of ."time the work would proceed without* interruption. Thanks were accorded the grain merchants for collecting the ' levies for wheatgrowers. on behalf of the Institute. , Mr Lyon .said that nothing seemed to have been done for the wheatgrowing areas on the Taieri plains and Milton. ' They seemed to think they had been neglected. Dr. Hilgendorf replied .that something would be done. Plant Breeding. Referring to plant breeding, the rli rector in ado the following report:— '"Plant breeding is in its : operation so specialised a process that it does not lend itself to general discussion. Dr. Frankel is, however, devoting the h'ghest degree of thought, skill, and bard work to a carefully-designed programme of work. His analysis of yield iirro tillering, number of grains per plant, and weight per grain is an especially refined piece of work, equalled only in the most advanced wheat-breeding' stations abroad. Tho crossing and subsequent selection, of wheats is such a long and slow process that a" mistake in the choice of parents may lead to an immense waste of labour, and this analysis is designed to give pure guidance in making tho choice. The hoarty co-operation between the Genetieis' and the Department' of Agriculture has led to the establishment of a much larger series of variety trials throughout Canterbury and Otago this year than last, and these will bo of considerable value from the points of view of both yield and quality. Tho sowing of plots of wheats for the International Institute of Agriculture at Koine brings us into a wnrkl-wido movement for recording climate, not by thermometers, and barometers, but by the growth of plants. The- total number of plots sown at Lincoln is 4380. and those include somo -'3OO different varieties on trial for curious purpose*.