CERTIFICATION OF SEED WHEAT.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XXXVI, Issue 4, 20 April 1928, Page 223

CERTIFICATION OF SEED WHEAT.

INAUGURATION OF SYSTEM IN CANTERBURY.

J. W. Hadfield,

H.D.A., Agronomist, Department of Agriculture, Christchurch.

A system of certification of seed wheat was inaugurated- this season in Canterbury by the Fields Division of the Department of Agriculture,, in co-operation with the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, through the recently formed Wheat Research Committee. The salient features of the scheme are here outlined, and an account is given of the first season’s operations.

The object of certification is to render. available to - merchants. and growers lines of seed reasonably pure and free from disease. It is hoped to stimulate the production of such seed by offering the grower a bonus, and its distribution by establishing the fact that its use will render yields more stable, the produce more readily saleable, and bring about marked improvement in the general standard of milling-wheat grown in New Zealand.

It has been proved that the majority of the diseases which each year take serious toll of our wheat , crops are seed-borne. Some, in addition to being seed-borne, are carried over from year to year in the soil; but this does not alter the fact that the' seed is the most important agency in the distribution of disease, and the loss thus entailed can be almost entirely eliminated by the use of disease-free seed. It is quite within the bounds of possibility for the mycologist and plant-breeder to produce seed which is at least free from the more serious diseases, and certification following its distribution is the logical extension. In, the meantime certification merely indicates those crops relatively free from disease, and affords the most practical means of reducing to within reasonable limits the loss which is a very real burden to the grower. The general standard of purity of our wheats, more particularly as regards the Velvet variety, is far from satisfactory. This aspect of the question is of serious importance to millers, and, in- addition, the cause of some loss to growers. CROP AND GRAIN INSPECTIONS. It" was decided, for this, the first season, to limit inspections to crops grown by the Canterbury Agricultural, College, Lincoln, and to crops

grown by farmers from seed produced by the College the previous year. It was therefore obviously necessary to draw a distinction between the seed j produced by a recognized institution or individual engaged in the production of pure lines and that produced by a grower'who is not the originator of the dine he is growing. In sealing the sacks the former is given a distinctive red tag and is termed “ pedigree certified .seed,” while the latter is termed “ farmers’ certified seed,” and the certification tag is white. Growers of Lincoln College -1926-27. seed were accordingly circularized and invited to tender their crops for certifi•cation if they so desired.

Inspection of the seed is not a reliable means 01 determining whether ■diseases are present; moreover, it is extremely difficult to identify impurities and the proportion of such impurities by an examination of the grain.. For this reason it becomes imperative to make a careful inspection of each growing crop, and such field inspections become a very necessary and important feature of all certification work.

Growers of crops which passed the necessary field inspection were requested to sign a guarantee to have the threshing-mill thoroughly cleaned down ; and in addition to this precaution the first three, and sometimes the last three, sacks from the mill were rejected. The grain was sampled immediately after threshing by an officer of the Department of Agriculture, the sample was graded, and the line accepted or rejected accordingly. On acceptance, the grain was machine-dressed under supervision, and the bags sealed and tagged. The certification tag indicates the name of the variety, the grower, and the merchant dressing the. seed. It was decided to limit certification during the 1927-28 season to Solid-straw Tuscan, Hunter’s, and Velvet., Unfortunately, no Velvet crops passed the necessary standard. PURCHASE OF WHEAT. The wheat was purchased by the Department of Agriculture in quantities sufficient to fill orders already on hand from merchants. It was . purchased at a uniform price namely, that price for millingquality of each variety ruling on 31st March, plus a bonus of 6d. per bushel. »Growers evinced a disinclination to sell under these terms, which explains the reason for so few crops offering. . That the date stated often coincides with a 1 period of fall in the market had not been overlooked, but there appeared to .be no alternative, and the 6d.-per-bushel bonus appeared more than sufficient to cover any fall in price likely' to occur. Disregarding the forward buying, which commenced about December at round about 6s. per bushel for Tuscan, much of the wheat purchased by the Department could have been sold possibly at ss. Bd. or ss. 9d. Actually the price fixed on 31st March was as follows — ’ Tuscan, ss. Bd. plus 6d. bonus = 6s. 2d. per bushel. Hunter's, 6s. plus 6d. bonus = 6s. 6d. per bushel. Velvet, 6s. 6d. plus 6d. bonus = 7s. per bushel. Growers are paid as soon as possible after 31st March —that is, as soon as the merchants have received and paid for the seed wheat received bv them.

MACHINE DRESSING.

Merchants agreed that one firm and no more in each' centre should undertake the' dressing of any one variety, and in doing so showed a fine spirit of co-operation, for obviously firms would as a rule desire to attend to the dressing of their own seed. This arrangement enabled each variety to be sold at a uniform price in any one centre, by pooling the dressing-costs, railage, &c., of all lines of each variety. Moreover, it allowed of more even distribution of the lines from different sources.

ESTIMATION OF EX-STORE PRICE. This price is arrived at for each variety in each centre by the firm dressing that particular variety. The following is an actual example of such a return obtained from one line of wheat. It must be remembered that all lines are averaged to obtain the selling-price of any one variety.

Into machine— £s. d. 251 sacks bushels) Tuscan, at ss. Bd. . . . . 238 2 6 Bonus to grower, at 6d. per bushel . . . . ... 2102 Railage . . . . . . . . , .. .. . 613 3 Receiving, at 2s. 3d. per 10 sacks . . . . . . 216 5J Delivery ex store, at 2s. 3d. per 10 sacks . . ..216 5| Cleaning, at 4d. per bushel ... . . ... ..14 o 2 Haulage on 314 bushels, at id. per bushel . . x .. 16 286 15 2 Less offals, 22J bushels, at 4s. 3d. per bushel .. . . 414 11 - 282. o 3

Ex machine — Bi4f§ bushels cost ,£282 os. 3d. = 6s. nd. per bushel.

FIXING OF SELLING-PRICE. It will be seen that it is possible to fix the selling-price from the ex-store price by adding the merchant’s commission. The following scale agreed to allows for storage, interest, and other charges in the example just quoted:— Ex-store price, 6s. i id. per bushel. i - ■ . Plus merchants’ commission, 6d. per bushel. Price for April—Cash 7s. 5d., booked 7s. 7d., per,bushel. Price for May Cash 7s. s|d., booked 7s. 7|d., per bushel. Price for June —Cash 7s. 6d., booked 7s. Bd., per bushel. Price for July—Cash 7s. 6|d., booked 7s. B|d., per bushel. RESPONSE BY MERCHANTS AND WHEATGROWERS. Decision regarding the inauguration of certification was arrived at during December last, and organization was necessarily hurried. Neither merchants nor growers really had sufficient opportunity for ■discussing the scheme, but the response by merchants was most encouraging. The North Canterbury Grain and Produce Merchants’ Association backed the scheme whole-heartedly, and rendered most valuable advice and assistance. Growers responded very tardily, and their justification for this attitude has already been explained.

The following areas were inspected :

Inspected. Acres.

Passed Field Inspection. Acres.

Solid-straw Tuscan . . . . • • 97 . 97 Hunter’s ... .. .. ... . 250 118 Velvet .. . . . . . . 126 Nil. - ! A few growers withdrew their, crops, and the following actually sold grain which was certified and sealed : A. E. Tutton, Broadfields .. . . .. Solid-straw Tuscan. D. Jones, Dunsandel . . . . . . ' ~ J. F. Dawson, Fernside ... . . . . ~ T. H. Wilkinson, Spotswood . . .. Hunter’s; Geo. McCullough, Temuka . . . . .. ~ E. W. Milne, Greenpark •.. .. .. ~ Merchants came forward with orders for 2,300 bushels of Solid-straw Tuscan, 1,940 bushels Hunter’s, and 836 bushels Velvet. It wasobvious that orders would have to be filled pro rata, and a number which arrived late had to be refused. These are not included in the above. , ■ Exclusive of Lincoln College, which has produced all the pedigree certified wheat this .season, the . following firms have purchased and been supplied with farmers’ certified seed wheat: —

Dalgety and Co., Ltd., Christchurch. New Zealand Farmers’ Co-operative Association, Ltd., Christchurch Wright, Stephenson, and Co., Ltd., Christchurch. Canterbury Seed Co. (N.Z.), Ltd., Christchurch. National Mortgage and Agency Co., Ltd., Christchurch. Wood Bros., Ltd., Christchurch. Matson and Co., Christchurch. Darling and McDowell, Oamaru. Wright, Stephenson, and Co., Ltd.. Oamaru. New Zealand Farmers’ Co-operative Association, Ltd., Leeston. Grain and Produce Merchants’ Association, Blenheim.

GENERAL. Mr. H. B. Veitch, Government Grain Grader, was appointed to supervise the grading, purchase, and distribution of the wheat, and it is very largely due to his expert knowledge and capable management that the scheme has been brought to a successful issue. A somewhat full account of the scheme has been presented—perhaps than is justified by the amount* of wheat handled this past season. It is confidently anticipated, however, that the system will extend, and the present opportunity has been taken of bringing the details to the notice of those who are interested and securing wider publicity in general.

[Note. —In the above return no allowance has been made for the following items, because they were not actually expended in this instance : Sampling, at 9d. for 10 sacks ; branding, at 4s. 6d. per 100 sacks ; storage, 3d. per 10 sacks per week ; insurance, is. 6d. per cent, per month.]