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This Kam is f iimad at ths radueUon ratio dMCInd bstow / C« docunMirt sst fiim* au taux da rMuction incNquA ei- ( SEED BRANCH Q£0. H. CLARK, 8«ed CommiNioner f>jr AND irA.L8E ^V\^ILD OA.T8 THEIR NATURE AND DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERS ■Y Mr. NORMAN GRIDDLE BULLETIN No. S-7 Printad by direction of Honourtbia MARTIN BURRELL, MInlstor of Aoriculturv OTTAWA, FEBRUARY. 1912 I , t':-^". ■-■ ■" • ■■ '':*'.' ■■ ■V , ' <^, •■i. ./; '■' ' ^ - . ; . ■ *t V .■ ?•> ■ .' i - *' Sj^ ' ■ DOMINION OF CANADA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SEED BRANCH GEO. H. CLARK, Seed Commissioner AND THEIR NATURE AND DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERS BT Mr. NORMAN GRIDDLE bIjLLETIN No. S-7 Printed by direction of Honourable MARTIN BURRELL, Minister of Agriculture OTTAWA, FEBRUARY, 1912 18302—1 LETTER OK TKA^HMITTAL. OriAWA, February 20, ltfl2. The Hon. Martin Bvrrbll, Minister of Auriculfure. Sir, — I have the honour to Hul>mit the manuHcript for a Itulli-tin prepared by Mr. Norman Criddle describinK field ex|>eriment!« with Wild Oatt* and FaNe Wild Data and the observationii and concluxioni' ronnected therewith. Mr. Criddlc'a work throws much light on the heretofore vexed question of whether or not the peculiar forms known as Fnlne Wild Oats are dangerouH weeds like Wild Oats. I recommend that the manuscript he printed for distribution as Bulletin No. S-7, entitled "Wild Oat xnnd 'nlse Wild Oats, their Nature and Distinctive Characters." Obediently your^, GEO. .1. CLARK, Se«rf Cam' monar. PREFACE. The material pp«'f«'ntH in thiM bulletin repn'wntu the rwiuiti of careful jnveistlgationB and obwrvationii covering a pt'riwl of »even years. Thewritw, Mr. Norman Crlddle, has been connected with the Seed Branch staff for several yean in the ctipacity of Aw' it Seed Analyst at the Ottawa or Calgary seed laboratory. H.' has also v h . large number of colored ami black and white drawings for "Farm Weedc .a other publications of this Branch. Mr. ('riddle is a close ftudent of nature and a very careful obsj-rver. DuriiiR the past few years he has been devoting special attention to a study of Wild Oats and False Wild Cats. The experimects describcti by Mr. Criddle were conducted on hi* farm at Treesbank, Man., and his obs<'rvations and conclusions constitute a very valuable contribution to the knowledge of the subject discussed. From the knowledge acquired it does not whmu probable that False Wild Oats will ever become a serious weed pest, and for 1 Ik iresient at least it will not be considered as coming within the meaning of the term "noxious weed>i" a<* applied to the Seed Control Act in official seed to-Jting, but will be clanwd among the uaelen or harmful plant*, or weeds of secondary importance. GEO. U. CLARK. 18302—2 18302 li Plate 111 li False Wild Oat Storm King Storm King type. False H^d Oiit 3TDIIM Kim IMMITV. /. Plate IV SlurmKing Oat ( PiK Oat ) Wild Oat ( AvtIU F*TU« ) FaUaWUdOat »TOim MiM «HMn False Wild Oat ■anmim tv*« Wild Oaf HmmII FalaoWild Oat NiwMAiH«>T VMiirrr 3. Pidae Wild Oat Oat ^.^ WILD OATS AND FALSE WILD OATS. THEIR NATURE AND DISTINCTIVE CHARACTtRS. By Mr. Xdkmax ('riddle. There are few probleniH of greater importance to the Krain grower of w i stern Canada than that relating to Wild Oats belonging to the aperies fntun. The injur)' caused by this weed at the present time amounts to an annual lorn of thousandiR, or perhaps millions, of dollars, and the loss is becoming greater yearly as the plant spreads further afield. The question of ics control has been discussed frequently, and most practical agriculturii'tH are mw aware of the best means to keep the plants within reasonable boumls. I say reasonable bounds because to exterminate them is a task of years which few farmers care to under- take. It is unnecessary therefore, as well as rather out of place, to take up that part of the subject here. But within recent years a question has arisen as to the validity of classing certain forms of oats as Wild Oats antl it is chiefly with this side of the problem that I propose to deal. For several years past I have carried on a number of experim«-nts with Wild Oats and what are termed False Wild Oats, also called Sports, White Wihl Oats and Albino Wild Oats, with a view to discovering what their status should be in relation to agriculture, and, further, what relaticin.ship — if any — the latter has to the former. With the latter problem I have made no progress due, at least in part, to lack of time, but as I have otherwise brought my experiments to a fairly satisfactory termination, it seems well to relate what the conclusions are so that others may benefit from the knowledge acquired. Different Types of True Wild Oats. To the botanist who has followed, even casually, the trend of modem thought in relation to the origin of new forms of species and has rcail the leatling works bearing upon plant breeding and the laws of Mendol, Aiena fattia (Wild Oats) with its fixed varieties will prove an interesting specifs, and I have no doubt that accurate study over the wide range inhabited by this plant will reveal many forms, each t)reeding true within itself. During the past throe years I have grown three fixe^ 8 (the Mnwll footstclk itupportinK the liowin grain in th** i«pikeU't) but the bwul M«r with its haini, and the awn also, nia> • broken off by thrtmhinic or handlins the grain. . , , . (2) A. /oe of a fluctuating nature and in con- sequence have been discprtled.* Appearance of False Wild Oats. For a number of years past there has been sor . difficulty in judging oats »» seed fairs due to there being found among the samples, kernels showing the oiit- ward appearance of Wild Oats; that is, having a long, twisting awn and cl»orue- teristic horsedioe base. These at first were unhesitatingly classed as Wild Oats, but later doubts arose as to the correctness of this and eventually most of those who had had practical experience in the matter arrived at the conclusion that the forms involved were not Wild Oats, but represented some form of deviation from type which affected, apparently, the seed coat only and left the seed proper unaltered. I found by experiment that any t>-pe of oat showing these retro- gressive characters when grown would produce a plant of typical appearance which, but for the long awn, could not be told from the cultivated variety from which it originated. It had also a seed of the same shape and plumpness but in addition to the long awn had a horseshoe shaped base, thus resembling a Wild Oat excepting in siie. Apart from this, however, all the forms examined by me have been less hairy than a Wild Oat, especially r9und the base. (See plates II, III and IV.) Experiments in Growing Different Types of False Wild Oats These facts were arrived at after a few years study but as it seemed wise to make further tests, so as to leave less room for error, all the available material has been collected and grown with the following results: — ( 1 ) Banner type. Three examples were tested, one for seven years and two fur three. All have proved fixed. (2) Newmarket of Abundance type. Three examples tested, one for five years, the others for two. They have shown no change in appearance. (3) Old Island Black type. One example from eastern Canada grown for two year.t. No change. • KorroR"* Note. — It may )* ntsted in thin connection that our best botanical autlioritips have failcil iii> tDili.tr. toadi.pt a miiforin (•la^'-ifii'ution of the imrtiiTiiii-' kucmii tppcies, vanities and tyiiesof Wild <)at.«. sc\oral of •»liirh are ponsiden^d a» pure by some authors and as hybrids by others. (4) A Mwk oat, name unknown. TI.I* niW»t rwily be »»i-< '»»";« ^n' • vttriely of .4 %«i4fl or true Wild Oat. wl.icl. it more .1 , ''-^^Wt. tlmn any Xr {'X. >N iia 0.t« that I know of. It may be teparatwl from the Wild Oal- ?v the fo»«winR feature.: Plant fully .Ix inche. thorter; .tem .touter in pro- .W S^rUon S-Ki not io lonii. niving the whole head a more compact and upnuht i^^ S^ ,earanff^« ?>?k a. in /«a.fl but le.« hairy eaperially round the .car. aim, *' Ker l!nd n^re dUnctly r(bbed. Thl« form hM grown true to type for two ^'■'75) Storm KiuK typf. Two exnmplo* grown for four nod .even year, re- "'"'th'efir.t^;«u?oTflle alH.ve mentione.l v, -ictie. belong to the »at^ (-prea.l- inc oanicle) form of growth, the lant to the Onentahn (wdc oat«) t\pc. n Sditiwi to the«e I remvetl from Mr. A. Cooper of TreesWnH. Man., «,n.e exmp r, Bann^ oatn grown on land free from ^ i d . Hin «n«l;"PP«?*dly Km pure aeed, showing a tendency in the < irec ion of he wild tvT* . ha> ng a rnt er more opin bannl near and larger awn than m UHunl m the 5""''; " J°""; The fir«t year these were grown alK,ut two per cent ^-^'''y ' '"'"/""i Tai Fal«e Wild Oat« while n majority of the others remamed as btfor?. A < .rtaiM Ju nber, however, developed stronger awns while othern l**"^*;'" «"t';;^ "" " •^; The more developed oats were again sown in 1911 and produced about 20% u KL WUd Oats.'^me 40% of the long awned kinds and the ^mamdex eah. «itl. ;.o awns or with the usv eak ones generally found «" «*« P^^^'^ "^* ", the upper grains in the head. »oui», of the ongmal seed was also »o^ »n«;»^** les. thkn one per cent of False Wild Oats but produced mstead a dwarf type f»" above six inches in height which though developing cufficiently to reveal t«. Msuariong awns of Fal« Wild Oat failed to produce germinab'- seed.. The proportion of plants of this kind amounted to '.learly one per cent. DUtlnftuishinft Character* of True and Fal»e Wild Oatt. The problem of distinguishing a true Wild Oat from a False Wild Oat « an important one from the farmer's standpoint In the growing «ta?;p this .-a comparatively simple matter «« the False Wild Oat ^;;''l ^^^e the „.ann«: rf growth characteristic of a cultivated oat, m contrast to that of the WM 4t previously described, but in the seed form the difficulty is much greater .^l there seems to be no fixed characte. by whi«;h to distinguish between som-' ... ^Ae smaller varieties of False Wild Oats and the true wild forms. With th^ ^p-r sorts now grown so extensively the difficulty of .hstinguishinK them i- t ^o Jr'at, and an experienced eye will at once detect the False Wild Oat by .t^ arger size and its usukllv close resemblance to the cultivated variety m whun it m found. Generally speaking too the lemma or ouU-r seed coat is more open in front with cultivated forms and False Wild Oats so that the palea <>' jn"/^ coat is broadly visible whereas in Wild Oats the edges of the lemma almost meet. There are, however, some exceptions to this rule. The seeds of Fahse Wild Oats carefully picked will show the very characteristics of true Wild O.rs, though somewhat less pronounced in most cases, but will mostly correspond with the cultivated variety i.. which they appear in size, plumpness, color and smoothness of the glumes. Difference in Germinating Qualifies. Germination tests will also reveal the nature of an oat if r2cently ripened owing to the readiness with which False Wild Oats grow m comparison with true Wild Oats but unless at least one hundrec little complaint against them on that account.* * Proiiably the chief o>)jrction to them is the long stiff awns — which, however, usunily l)econic broken «)ff in threshing — nrtd their tendency to shell out. , — HnMra the luiinpmuii Ubontory raprrimenti ihowinK thai Fklw Wild Oat* Krminat* aa madily a« mmm^'n c^iliival ' -ta, and the work clonr by Mr. Criddlr, mentinn may mad* hore of a nmrlii'ivr Hi-lrl cxiirrinipnt euoduptod at Guolph, Onl., by Mr. K. \. Hown, tiAw Aiiii'taiit 8o«d Annlyt of thr Swd h' .iirh, Drpartinenl of Acrirulturp. Ottawa. A mixturr of FuIm Wild OaU of differrnt tyiira iinth rropa ware allowed tn >h"ll frprly whrn ripe and after the atraw wa% removed, the noil in both cantm waa Riven a mirfare rultivation viflici>-nt t« cover moet of the aeed waltered about. A Hne fall growth of eultlvalad oata and Falae Wild Oata developellin a ahort time hut not a ainsle plant could he found in the Wild Oat plot tbrouihnut the autumn. Thla gro i.h waa winter killed and In the aprini the mmI waa ■tirred up witn a rak*. In the Wild Oat plot numcroua planta apteared, though not ao thiclily nor ao uniformly aa in the esae of the other plot durinn the previoua autumn but not one plant apfieared in the cultivated oata and Falae Wild Oata plot. In order to keep w.trh for > l.inta from wed of retanlt'il Cerminatioo eabbaaea were ael out on the whole atrip. No oata i-sme up in the plot where rultivntrd oata and Falae Wild Oata had been crown, but Wild Oata atipeared in the other plot up to July 2Mih. In thia cane Fal^e Wild Oata and **"< cultivated oata from which they came acted alike, while the Wild Oata acted quite differently. An eipMiment in ipring Ken.. ..ntion waa conducted in 1911). Wild Oata from Brandon. Mnn., eultivatad oata from the Swedish Select, Kar'y Ripe and Iriah Victor varietii-a and Falae Wild Oata from thoae tliree varioiea, all the a<.f |>cr cent oi the graina were double aud in nearly alt uaaea the primary grain waa « tire^ Verncllenaor the kernel waa very amall. The aample tested 47- 1 percent hull, while the K/eraga loi the i^tonii King variety t* aUiut 32 per cent. Thia apparent tendency toward an inereuw in per cent of hull in aingle grain:) and increase in the proportion of keruelless double grains, with some vorie- ticT^ al ieosi, ia vt*r> u^ijf^'iafiiatfte. 11 < tout th« rhiv prartieal menna to prevent or rwtriet th< cr Li.Ti*nr« uf thra* undMinibW fcMina w to refmin from crowing aurh viiri«tiea «• jfcwrvation Khowi to b« •prriaily inrlined to produrvd tnrni and, where practirithle, to remove them by hand from the irowinR rrop or need Rnin. Fiekl experiment* indirate that the Medii of Faiw Wild OatH that thell out and fall to the ground cinild be des- troyed by after-harve«t t-uitivatiun to indure germination. On th<> other hand they tend to confirm the opinion that very little ran lie a<-roinpllNhey thia method. Hm PrdMbte Origin of FalM Wild Oats. The origin of thnu- Fnliie Wild OatM wtill remaina doubtful. It Im poMible that they may be the r»«ult of a craw between the wild and culvitatwl i*|ierie«, but in view of the teeming fact that they are no more numerous in oatM wl.ich are known to have been brought into contact with Wild Oats than those kept free from them, and further lui Home varieties seem to contain far more False Wild Oats than others, it seems hardly likely that they are produced in this manner.* C'oncluaiont. My chief object in presenting this material has been to show (1) that there is no longer any necessity for classifjing False Wild Oats as Wild Oats, and (3) that their characteristic manner of nt>wth, Ac, gives little cause for apprehension or for supposing that they will ever become sufficiently numerous to be classed as anything out an impurity, just as a l>lark oat in a white variety would be. In conclusion I desire to express mv indebtedness to Mr. G. H. (Uark, the Seed Commissioner, and to Mr. G. Michaud, Botanist and Seed Analvst of the Seed Branch, for their kindness in placing the whole of their snmples at my disposal. 'EorroB'a Nora. — The problem of how to nrevrnt the muUipUcktion of Fslie Wild Oau and ile*troy them ii • moet enigmatirsl one and it will rcniun m until nore deanita know'rdce i* acquired in ressrd to their relation to true Wild Oat* and the cultivated \-arieUaa. Firet of all the problem of th^ uriida of the cultivated nati ihould be deflned and agreed upon by the cereal breederi and icicntiata. TuTproblam aoived, a {< >* plauaibte explanationa of the origiD of Falae Wild Oata by atr.viam or r«- liugiiiialos could be accepted, alao if it could he utiifactorily proven that aoroe of our ruUvated varis- tie> of o«U were originated from or have been improved by mnana of eroaaing with Wild Osta. Thea* hypntbMPi are generally accepted on account of their plauiibility, but aa far aa we know tiMy have never l