WHEAT RESEARCH

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXIV, Issue 18830, 19 March 1931, Page 7

WHEAT RESEARCH

INSTITUTE’S ACHIEVEMENT. GROWING HIGH-GRADE GRAIN. “Wheat Research” was the subject cf an interesting address given by Mr C. H. Hewlett, of Christchurch, before the South Canterbury Chamber of Commerce last evening. Mr P. B. Foote, president of the Chamber, occupied the chair, and there was a good attendance of members and others interested in the subject of wheat growing. As a preliminary to his remarks in general on the question of wheat research, Mr Hewlett said that in prewar days New Zealand was an exporting country so far as wheat was concerned. Then the war came on, and the Government desired to get bread for the consumer as cheap as possible, and fixed the limit for wheat, beyond which the farmer could not sell. At the same time the country was trying to get the highest price for the goods it exported. It was impossible to get cheap wheat on the one hand and high prices for butter and cheese. If the normal law of supply was not allowed to operate, then the farmer grew wool instead of wheat. When the price of wheat went up over the limit the farmer sowed more wheat, and the Government immediately comnjandeered it, and if there was a plentiful supply the Government said, “You can sell on a free .market.” The farmer got the worst of the deal every time. When the price was high the Government commandeered the lot, and when the price was low it left the wheat alone. The position became so desperate when the Customs tariff was lifted, that a thorough investigation of the position wa.s made. After a lot of evidence had been taken, the sliding scale was introduced. Farmers, millers, bakers and everyone concerned found that for the first time they had stability so far as the market went. Instead of sitting down on protection, those interested in the growing of wheat set about putting their house in order. A Wheat Research Institute was formed, with nominees from the farmers, millers and bakers, and three from the Scientific Research Department. Dr. Denham, Professor of Chemistry at Canterbury College, was appointed chairman of the Board, Dr. Hilgendorf, of Lincoln College, was appointed director in charge of the Institute, while Dr. Franke, who was experienced in plant breeding was brought to New Zealand from England, and Mr West, B.Sc., a cereal chemist, was brought from Canada. “So you see," said Mr Hewlett, “we have some pretty good men, and we spent a good deal of time collecting them. So far as funds are concerned, Parliament passed an Act which provided for a contribution by farmers of lid for every 50 bushels sold, while the miller contributed on the same basis per ton of flour, and the baker on each ton of flour purchased from the millers. This money Is deposited with the Scientific Research Department and is subsidised £1 for £1 by the Government.” Yield and Quality. Mi* Hewlett said the object of the Institute was to improve the yield and quality of New Zealand wheat, so as to give a better monetary advantage to the farmers, and to give a better loaf to the consumer. Directly the Institute commenced its work it was found that there were not many pure strains of wheat, and that the names the wheats used were known under were not their names at all. Dr. Hilgendori' called for samples from all over New Zealand and received hundreds, but these proved a horrible mixture, with the result that the Institute had to go in for breeding pure strains. The method adopted was to select 100 heads of pure types, and these were sown by hand. This process was continued until a bushel of seed was secured. The work had progressed until two years ago they had experimented with 1100 varieties of wheat from China, Russia, and all over the place. A great many were hydridised, and most of them probably had to be scrapped in the first year. Some 5000 trials had been made at Lincoln College alone, and this year 4900 were going on, while next year 18,000 experiments would be made. All this took a considerable amount of time and a large amount of money. Every different strain which showed any likelihood at all had to be separately harvested, threshed, and milled. The wheat had to be analysed to ascertain the percentage of flour and protein content, and the flour made into bread, and the degree of moisture had to be ascertained and separate records kepi of each variety. It would be understood that with hundreds of varieties there was entailed a tremendous amount of work. Still, considerable progress had been made. In addition, a large number of manurial trials had been car- ■ r ied out by the Plant Research branch i of the Department of Agriculture, in | collaboration with the Institute. Referring to the individual experi- ' ments made, Mr Hewlett said that Yeoman, Major, Marquis, Dreadnought, Velvet Chaff, Red Fife, and Short Straw Velvet had each shown high yields of flour. In the Marlborough district it had been found that Marquis, and even Dreadnought, produced high grade milling wheat. The records tabulated in connection with the varieties named were:—

Mr Hewlett said that with good farming, and pure strains freed from disease and grown on suitable land, properly manured (, the best of results could be secured. The experiments exploded the fallacy that it was necessary for New Zealand to import strong wheats in order to produce good bread. It had been shown that under proper conditions high quality wheats could be successfully grown in the Dominion. He emphasised that some improved strains were already being produced, the most promising of which were being grown on a large scale A great improvement in the bread produced in Christchurch had been effected througn the information which the Institute had been able to supply to bakers. With respect to the matter of eliminating disease, Mr Hewlett stated that a number of strains had been cleared from infection, and special attention was being devoted to the raising of dis-sease-resisting varieties. Lincoln College had developed a new strain of Hunters, known as Bell Hunters, whico would put out the present Hunter variety. It was shorter in the straw and had a better head, and would not “go down” in wet weather. By an arrangement that a farmer growing wheat, from certified strains secured 6d a bushel extra for his crop, one farmer had stated that he had made £SOO by this means. The testing system in vogue made this possible, and all wheat bearing the seal of the Institute had a guarantee that it was true to strain and was up to standard. Application had to be made by the farmer that he desired to grow this certified wheat for seed purposes, and if the Department of Agriculture, after examining the wheat so grown, considered it suitable for seed, fairly free

from disease, true to type, and free from other defects, a preliminary certificate was issued, and after it was threshed a seal was affixed to the bags. Dealing with the question of wheat being out of condition, Mr Hewlett said that the best place to put wheat into condition was in the paddock. He explained that if the wheat was bagged and stacked so as to allow proper ventilation it would be found to be all right, and would prevent rising heat, which was detrimental to the wheat. Mr Hewlett said that experiments in connection with barley similar to those carried out with wheat had been conducted in Canterbury. Good strains suitable to various locations had been produced. The original seed had been cleared of smut by hot water treatment, and the bulk of the seed now used in Canterbury was either once or twice removed from the hot-water process. Care had been taken throughout all the sowing and harvesting operations to keep the seed and the resultant crop free from reinfection, with the result that the barley was now practically free from disease. The combination of suitable, pure strains, and the elimination of disease, had increased the yield and quality of the North Canterbury barley crop very considerably during the last four years. It would be seen, said Mr Hewlett, that the wheat growers and those in the allied industries were trying to work out their own salvation under the sliding scale of duties. As progress was made the sliding scale should gradually reduce itself year by year until the duty became normal but time was needed. Mr Hewlett said the Institute had given valuable assistance in the production of dried bulk in the North Island Large quantities of dried milk were used in the making of bread in Christchurch, and it was conceivable that a great export trade in dried milk could be worked up. At the conclusion of his address Mr Hewlett answered a number of questions, and was accorded a hearty vote of thanks by acclamation, on the motion of Mr W. T. Ritchie.

Variety. Flour. Protein. Baking Score. Per cent. Per cent. (T1.50). Yeoman . 75.4 9.77 38 Marquis . 75.9 11.02 37.5 Major . 74.1 9.58 22.5 Dreadnought . 74.3 9.86 38 Velvet Chaff . 77 9.43 40 Red Fife . 72.5 10.25 39.5 S.S. Velvet . • 73 9.75 35.5