PLANT SELECTION AND BREEDING.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume VI, Issue 2, 15 February 1913, Page 133

PLANT SELECTION AND BREEDING.

THE RUAKURA OAT.

Primrose McConnell.

THE Ruakura oat —the rust-resistant variety bred from, a selected head of the Argentina oat in the year 1908 by the Horticulturist of the Farm, Mr. A. W. Greenis now being produced on a scale sufficiently large to . enable it to be tested for disease-i resistance on a practical scale under varying soil and climatic conditions throughout the Dominion. Five acres have been cropped this season, which have given a return of 90 bushels of first-grade seed and 9 bushels of second-grade to the acre, the progeny in four years of half the result ‘of a single head selected from, the growing crop of Argentina oats for its disease-resistant power. Besseler’s Prolific oat (note the name), growing under similar conditions to the New Zealand resistant oat, has only yielded 25 bushels per acre. That the Ruakura oat is rust-resistant, as far as Ruakura experience of it has gone, is undoubted. More than this, during the four years of its existence no sign of smut or root-fungus has made its appear-

ance on. it, this while two other varieties growing in the same field and alongside it were affected with rust, smut, and root - fungus, the last-named disease being particularly bad. It stood the test of six days of exceptionally wet, muggy weather without any perceptible change in bright colour of the straw and seed-head, while the other varieties in the paddock were turned almost black. The test was an undoubtedly severe one, and speaks volumes for the constitutional power of the new oat. It is particularly gratifying that this farm has produced a definite rust-resistant oat, as the several oats from abroad claiming to be resistant proved under test at Ruakura to have here none of the resistance claimed for them. ' Slightly grey in colour, the oat is thin-skinned and is of fine quality, the bushel. weight • the true test of value— 461 b. The heavyweighing- oat has naturally a good kernel. Though the quality of the oat is satisfactory, it can be improved from this viewpoint; indeed, selection to this end is now claiming the attention of the originator, Mr. Green. The quality of this season’s product exhibits a decided improvement on that of last season, by reason of only carefully selected grain being used for last year’s seed. The history of the Ruakura oat is best told by Mr. Green himself, as it is he alone who has been responsible for this important evidence of the value to the agricultural world of the work of the plantbreeder. Mr. Green reports, —

“ Under instructions from the Director, Mr. E. Clifton, .to make selections from Algerian, Argentina, and Red . Rust-proof oats, in order to discover if a more highly rust-resistant oat could be obtainedthese three varieties being less affected by rust than the remaining twentyfour varieties tested at Ruakura in .the 1908 seasonthe work of selecting oats for rust-resistance was initiated. A previous attempt had been made to select for increased yield, but the result was nugatory, owing to all the varieties under test being rendered useless through rust. It was this experience that caused attention to be directed to selection for rust-resistance. In December, 1908, 1,050 ..single-head selections of the .above three types were made, and were sown on the 15th September, 1909. Of these selections only seven were retained for continuance at the harvest on the Bth January, 1910. The seven selections were again sown separately, and out- of these the foundation of the present strain, known as Ruakura Rust-resistant, was chosen. All • along this one ■exhibited the strongest powers of rust-resistance.

“ The crop from the single head reaped, on the 2nd January 1910, gave a yield of 376 heads, weighing, with 2 ft. of stem attached

4 lb. 6 oz. The next year’s test took the form of sowing half of this quantity and surrounding it with Tartar King oat, the most susceptible variety to rust at Ruakura. The remaining half of the 376 heads were reserved in case of ~ a bad season destroying the selection sown. The sheaf of these heads is here illustrated. The

following season seed-samples were distributed for testing in other districts, and the remainder of the seed, 12 lb., was sown on the Bth September, 1911, the resulting crop, harvested on the 23rd January, 1912, giving a yield of 16| bushels. This was sufficient to sow 5 acres this year, not counting the grain contained in eight sheaves reserved for shows and' 4 bushels distributed to other

experimental farms and the Fields Instructors.. From the 5 acres. 90 bushels of firsts .and 9 bushels of seconds per acre have been ■obtained. , , .

“ It has never been claimed that the new oat is absolutely rust-proof. What can be ■claimed is that it is the most resistant to disease of all the' varieties, tested at Ruakura.”