CEREAL BREEDING.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20448, 30 June 1928, Page 8

CEREAL BREEDING.

EXPERIMENTS OF CANTERBURY AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. Wo have received the following report respecting the cereal breeding at Canterbury Agricultural College: When the cereal breeding now being carried on at the college was begun some IS years ago it was the considered opinion of those in charge that once a pure strain was established and distributed from the college the strain would be multiplied in the particular district in which it had been grown, and that the demand for a further supply of seed from the college would be limited to isolated cases of growers requiring a new supply owing to some unforeseen cause. Seed college hunters was first distributed in 1914 in two small lots. In succeeding years small lots of other pure strains of wheat were distributed and larger quantities of College Hunters. By 1919-1920 harvest very large areas of College Hunters, College Solid Straw Tuscan, and College Velvet were being grown all over Canterbury and Otago. Up to this period Dr Hilgendorf had inspected crops for purity and kept growers in touch with sources of supply outside the college. At the end of 1919 an arrangement was made with the Department of Agriculture to inspect and certify and hold the best crops for distribution. This most exccleut scheme was fully appreciated and the seed sold readily, securing an almost complete distribution of college strains of cereals. Here again it was anticipated that the college would be relieved of the necessity for growing hulk supplies of seed, thus enabling them to concentrate on breeding and selection. The prediction has not been borne out. There was a slight easing off in the demand for seed wheat for a year or two, and this may have been as much due to the slump period as any other cause. When onr pure strain Algerian oats were put on the market they were readily bought and the demand dropped, but during the last four years we have had an increasing number of inquiries for seed wheat and oats. During the season just closed the demand for seed has been so great that we were unable to fill orders. Practically every pound of seed cereals grown on the farm has been disposed of, and the bulk was sold before the grain was harvested. Further than this, we have already booked orders for next scason. . In presenting this report, we would like first to express our indebtedness to the wheat-growers of Canterbury and Otago for presenting us with a seeddressing and cleaning plant. The possession of such a plant has enabled us to handle the grain ourselves and deliver straight to the farmer. This has undoubtedly been a contributing factor in stimulating the demand for our seed. Another gratifying step is the certification of seed scheme, a revival of the 1919-20 scheme, which we regretted very much had been dropped by the Department of Agriculture. The new scheme, under Mr Hadfield’s control, started this year, will, we hope, grow and ensure supplies of pure seed in the future. The gratifying yields of cereals during ■the last two seasons have been largely attributed to the seasons While we have no hesitation in agreeing that the seasons have been favourable, we might ask if the good returns may not have been contributed to by other factors. When we look at statistics of the yields extending back a number of years, one is struck by the gradual increase in the last decade, and we think it may be fairly claimed that our work at the college has been a factor in bringing this about. We have testimony from wheat-growers all over Canterbury that this is so. College strains of cereals wherever tried have given a better return than commercial strains. They are, therefore, now in such general use that the average grain yield is increased. So far as we at the college are concerned, every effort is being strained to produce pure strain seeds, but with the limited area at our disposal we are only able to supply a small portion of the demand. We hope that the seed certification scheme adopted last season will be continued and extended, and that growers will give every assistance in the endeavour to keep up the supply of seed.