Historic, archived document

Do not assume content reflects current
scientific knowledge, policies, or practices

U. S. DEPARTMENT OE AGRICULTURE.

BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY— BULLETIN NO. 240.

B. T. GALLOWAY, Chief of Bureau.

cooperative grain investigations at
Mcpherson, kans., 1904-1909.

BY

VICTOR L. (DRY,

Scientific Assistant in Grain Investigations.

Issued March 4, 1912.

WASHINGTON:

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.

1812.

BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY.

Chief of Bureau, Bevebly T. Galloway.
Assistant Chief of Bureau, William A. Taylor.
Editor, J. E. Rockwell.
Chief Clerk, James E. Jones.

Grain Investigations,
scientific staff.
Mark Alfred Carleton, Cerealist in Charge.
C. R. Ball, Charles E. Chambliss, H. B. Derr, and F. D. Farrell, Agronomists.
Edward C. Johnson, Pathologist.

H. J. C. Umberger and H. E. Blanchard, Assistant Agronomists.
Cecil Salmon, Physiologist.
John F. Ross, Farm Superintendent.
A. A. Potter, Assistant Pathologist.

E. L. Adams, P. V. Cardon, V. L. Cory, IT. V. Harlan, Edw. M. Johnston, and Clyde McKee, Scientific
Assistants.

F. R. Babcock, Assistant.

L. C. Aicher, L. C. Burnett, J. Mitchell Jenkins, Clyde E. Leighty, and Thomas R. Stanton, Agents.
240
2

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

U. S. Department of Agriculture,

Bureau of Plant Industry,

Office of the Chief,

Washington, D. C, December 7, 1911.
Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith a paper entitled
"Cooperative Grain Investigations at McPherson, Kans., 1904-1909/'
by Mr. Victor L. Cory, Scientific Assistant in Grain Investigations,
with an introduction by Mr. Mark Alfred Carleton, Cerealist in Charge
of Grain Investigations, and recommend its publication as Bulletin
Xo. 240 of the series of this Bureau.

The facts contained in this paper cover results obtained during the
six-year period of 1904-1909 and therefore should be of sufficient
extent to be of considerable value to farmers and others interested in
the district to which these results are applicable. The experiments
were conducted in cooperation with the Kansas Agricultural Experi-
ment Station.

Respectfully, B. T. Galloway,

Chief of Bureau.
Hon. James Wilson,

Secretary of Agriculture.

240

3

CONTEXTS.

Page.

Introduction 7

Objects of the work 9

Conditions influencing grain yields 9

Field conditions 9

( limatic conditions ~ 10

Grain diseases 11

Insect enemies 11

Variety tests of the small grains 12

Winter ^vheat 12

Barley 15

Oats 16

Other grain crops 18

Rotation experiments 19

Smut prevention 20

Summary 21

240 5

B. P. I.— 715.

cooperative grain investigations at
Mcpherson, kans., 1904-1909.

INTRODUCTION.1

The investigations of grains with which this paper is concerned
covered a period of 10 years in all, though during one of these years
(1901) the work was suspended. The paper itself, however, discusses
only the work of the years 1904-1909, as reports of the previous years
are not sufficiently complete to be of value to the reader.

Experiments were begun at Halstead, Kans.. in the autumn of 1899,
with the chief aim at first to establish or develop varieties of wheat
and other cereals resistant to rust and which would at the same time
have the qualities of yield, etc., already present in the standard
varieties then grown. The writer had already obtained several new
varieties of wheat, oats, and barley from eastern and central Russia,
some of which were very resistant to drought, and others resistant to
rust, which varieties were employed, along with many other native
varieties, in these experiments. Some 200 so-called different varieties
of cereals were planted in nursery rows, and about one dozen tenth-
acre plats were seeded with a few of the most promising winter
wheats and spring-sown cereals.

In the spring of 1900 Mr. Deane B. Swingle was appointed special
agent in direct charge of these experiments. During the summer
about 200 different crosses were made among the wheat varie-
ties of these experiments with the idea of combining yield, rust
resistance, quality of grain, and winter hardiness. Several very
hardy strains of the Crimean wheat were crossed with the very prolific
variety Jones's Winter Fife. Durum wheats were used to give rust
resistance to the standard winter varieties and the Zimmerman was
crossed on the winter wheats to add earliness. Many of the resultant
selections from the different hybrids thus produced are yet under
experiment at different points in the country and some of them are
likely to be important pure strains for the use of the farmer.

In the year 1901 the work in Kansas was interrupted but the seed
obtained from the crosses the previous year was divided in the case
of each cross into two equal portions and one portion in every case was

i The introduction has been written by Mr. Mark Alfred Carleton, Cerealist in Charge of the Office of
Grain Investigations.

22552°— Bui. 240—12 2 7

8 GRAIN INVESTIGATIONS AT McPHERSON, KANS., 1904-1909.

sown in the fall of 1900 at College Park, Md., where experiments had
already been undertaken in cooperation with the Maryland Agri-
cultural Experiment Station. In this way a year's time was saved
in the continuation of the experiments with these hybrids, which
would otherwise have been lost if there had been dependence upon
the work in Kansas alone. In the fall of 1901 the other half of the
seed of each original cross wTas planted at Halstead, Kans., and the ex-
periments renewed at that place. A number of varieties of oats and
barleys were also planted the following spring, but no crosses were
made with these cereals. Additional varieties of winter wheat of
considerable promise were planted at this time in tenth-acre plats
and also several introduced varieties of oats and barley. Mr. Swingle
having resigned to take a course of study in a university, Mr. L. A.
Fitz was appointed as special agent in direct charge of the experi-
ments, beginning in the spring of 1902. The experiments were con-
tinued during the summer of 1903, by which time considerable infor-
mation had been obtained as to the adaptability of the varieties of
hard winter wheat of the Crimean group, known locally in that region
as Turkey wheat. Several new strains of tins group obtained from
south-central Russia appeared to be considerably better in hardiness
and yield.

In the fall of 1903 the experiments were transferred from Halstead
to McPherson, Kans. Meantime, Mr. Fitz having gone to another
station, Mr. H. F. Blanchard was assigned to the direct charge of the
experiments at McPherson. About this time arrangements were made
for the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station to take part in the
experiments and since then the investigations have been in cooperation
with that station. At the end of the crop year of 1905, Mr. Blanchard
having been transferred to take charge of experiments in California,
Mr. V. L. Cory was appointed as special agent in direct charge of the
experiments and continued to conduct the work until it ended with
the season of 1909.

Investigations were conducted at McPherson, Kans., for six contin-
uous years and many things of much value to the farmers of the State
were learned during this time. (1) It was demonstrated thoroughly
that the varieties of winter wheat of the Crimean, or Turkey, group,
which are widely grown in the State, are those best adapted to much
the largest portion of Kansas. (2) It was learned at the same time
that there is some difference in the various strains of tins group of
wheats and that apparently the Kharkof gives the best results for the
winter-wheat area of the State as a whole, though in certain localities
and certain seasons other strains may be at least as good or better.

Much information was obtained about winter emmer and winter
barley, many varieties of which were grown during the time, per-
mitting a very careful comparison of the adaptability of these varie-

240

OBJECTS OF THE WORK. 9

ties. Much has been learned about buckwheat as a crop for that
region and the wide difference in its varieties. A series of rotations
of cereals with other crops was maintained, from which considerable
information has been obtained. Seeding tests to determine the
proper rate of seeding and the date of planting were conducted con-
stantly and much has been learned as to methods of cultivation.

A considerable quantity of surplus seed has been produced each
year for several years, which has been distributed throughout the
State by the experiment station, through the persistent efforts of
Prof. A. M. Ten Eyck, until recently in charge of the department of
agronomy. As the region in which McPherson is situated is more
nearly typical of the small-grain growing areas of the State than that
around Manhattan, there is no doubt that much of the good resulting
from distribution of seed of new strains of cereals adapted to Kansas
has been derived from the work conducted at this point.

OBJECTS OF THE WORK.

The principal object of these investigations has been to find hardy
prolific varieties or strains of wheat, oats, barley, and other small
grams especially adapted to the conditions of central and western
Kansas. Variety testing has been conducted extensively, and breed-
ing and selection work has been employed to originate better types
of grain and to improve the standard varieties. In addition an
experiment in rotations was instituted in 1905 to demonstrate the
inadvisability of growing one crop continuously on the land. The
demonstration of the value of good preparation of the seed bed and
the use of selected seed of the varieties best adapted to the conditions
was of special importance locally. The distribution of seed of the best
varieties has also been a feature of the work.

CONDITIONS INFLUENCING GRAIN YIELDS.
FIELD CONDITIONS.

The soil of the station farm is a deep, sandy loam of medium fer-
tility. A portion of the field, about 2 or 3 acres, is low and not well
drained. The entire field was badly infested with weeds when the
experimental work was started, and as the smallness of the farm did
not permit the use of a rotation of value for weed control no progress
has been made in checking them. In consequence, the results are
less valuable and the yields lower than would otherwise have been the
case.

The most troublesome weed was the wild buckwheat (Tiniaria
convolvulus). This is quite injurious in spring grams, but in the
whiter grains the fall growth covers the ground in early spring aud

240

10 GRAIN INVESTIGATIONS AT McPHEESON, KANS., 1904-1909.

keeps it from getting started. It forms a mat or carpet on the ground,
climbs up the stems of the grains, pulling down the plants and mak-
ing them hard to harvest, and uses plant food and moisture greatly
needed by the growing crops.

The low portion of the field is infested with Gaertneria grayi,
locally termed "white ragweed," and occasionally with Coreopsis
tinctoria, a tickseed locally known as wild flax. The former is an
especially bad w^eed, and every plat containing a part of this low area
was injuriously affected by it.

CLIMATIC CONDITIONS.

The mean annual temperature at McPherson is about 54.5° F. and
the mean annual precipitation about 32.5 inches. The elevation is
1,495 feet. Killing frosts may occur as late as the first of May and
as early as the last of September. No meteorological observations
have been taken at the station; the data used in this report were
obtained from the records of Mr. E. F. Haberlein, a voluntary
observer, whose instruments are located 1 mile east of the station.
The rainfall, by months, from August 1, 1903, to July 31, 1909, is
shown in Table I. The totals for each crop year, which is here
regarded as extending from August 1 to July 31 of the succeeding
year, are also given.

Table I. — Precipitation record at McPherson, Kans., from Aug. 1, 1903, to July 31,

1909.

Month.

Year.

19C3

1904

1905

1906

1907

1908

1909

Inches.

Inches.

0.22

.07

.67

3.39

5.19

8.77

10.86

2.81

5.14

1.53

.24

.33

Inches.
1.27
1.26
2.17
2.91
5.91
5.02
4.37
1.10
6.33
1.57
2.92
.12

Inches.
0.64
.28
2.60
2.96
1.64
6.00
3.38
2.99
4.30
2.44
1.87
1.16

Inches.
2.23
1.34
1.87
1.07
1.92
4.23
3.83
4.95
1.15
5.16
.62
1.76

Inches.

0.06

.86

.28

2.17

5.95

9.27

3.36

5.10

2.65

1.71

2.19

.06

Inches.
0.68

.81

March

.46

.93

4.91

6.64

July

6.14

5^28

5.33

1.24

.36

29.17
10.05

22.91
12.04

17.50
12.76

16.49
13.64

21.95
11.71

20.55

18.60

Total for year

39.22
47.77

34.95
32.96

30.26
29.54

30.13
29.25

33.66
35.59

32.26

1 The crop year is regarded as extending from Aug. 1 of one year to July 31 of the succeeding year.
Thus the rainfall "or the crop year 1904 is the sum of the rainfall from Aug. 1 to Dec. 31, 1903, 18.60 inches,
and jom Jan. 1 to July 31, 1904 29.17 inches, or a total of 47.77 inches.

The departure from the normal has been marked in but two of the
years. In 1904 the rainfall was excessive, making it impossible to
harvest a part of the grain properly and furthering a serious epidemic

240

OBJECTS OF THE WORK. 11

of rust. In 1907 a fairly wet winter was associated with a compara-
tively high temperature. In April and May the weather was unusu-
ally cold; seriously checking the growth of the grain, materially
damaging all the earlier varieties, and favoring a destructive invasion
of the ''green bug/; or spring-grain aphis. While the rainfall has not
been below 29 inches for any crop year, intervals of from three to six
weeks of drought have occurred each year. These periods generally
occur in early spring and late summer and have little effect on the
crop. The dry winters have but little influence on the winter grains
unless the season is unusually cold and windy. In the winter of
1908-9 this condition prevailed and caused quite a loss in the less
hardy varieties.

GRAIN DISEASES.

Leaf rust has been present to a slight extent each year, but with
the exception of 1904 it has not been abundant. In that year many
of the oat varieties were badly affected by it, while the stem rust
affected nearly all late varieties of small grain and in many cases
caused entire failures. Emmer was severely attacked by the stem
rust, while spelt was free from it, although it had considerable leaf
rust. In succeeding years stem rust has attacked late varieties,
especially emmer, but the injury has been comparatively slight.

In central Kansas the occurrence of smut in wheat, oats, and barley
is universal. From personal observations in the surrounding country,
not always based on^ actual counts, barley is believed to have a larger
percentage of smut than oats and oats than wheat. Fields of barley
have been noticed that were black with smut, with a loss of about 50
per cent. As only the tallest smutted stalks are seen in looking over
a field, farmers are apt to overlook the presence of the disease. As
an instance, on a near-by farm the farmer was questioned in regard
to the presence of smut in his field of wheat. His statement that
there was none was found upon investigation to be incorrect, for a
small percentage of smutted heads was seen. Mr. Edward C. John-
son, pathologist in charge of cereal-disease work of the Bureau of
Plant Industry, examined a few fields adjacent to the station for
bunt, or stinking smut of wheat. In each case a small percentage
was found, though this disease has not occurred on the station farm.
The loose smuts are the prevalent ones, but the covered smut of
barley is nearly as common as the loose smut.

INSECT ENEMIES.

The chinch bug and the wheat-straw worm have caused but slight
damage in any of the years under discussion. In 1907 the spring-
grain aphis, or " green bug," destroyed the durum wheat and with the

240

12 GRAIN INVESTIGATIONS AT McPHERSON, KANS., 1904-1909.

unfavorable climatic conditions caused practically a failure in all the
other spring small grains. Winter wheat was damaged severely, but
made a fair crop. The invasions of the spring-grain aphis, however,
are very rare. Frequently serious damage is caused by the Hessian
fly, which is distinctly a wheat insect, but occurs occasionally in
barley and rye. The adult fly closely resembles a small mosquito,
but does not feed, the injury to the plant being done by the larva in
the form of a footless maggot. It is usually observed, however, in
the pupa, or what is known as the "flaxseed" stage. It breeds twice
a year, in the spring and in the fall, the spring generation remaining
in the "flaxseed" stage throughout the summer and the fall genera-
tion throughout the winter. In the fall the adult flies emerge,
chiefly in September and October, living long enough to mate and
deposit eggs. The infestation of winter wheat may therefore be
avoided by seeding at a date later than oviposition.

The time at which the seeding can be safely done varies with the
latitude and the condition of the weather. Dry weather prolongs
the "flaxseed" stage. For central Kansas a date as late as October
10 can be considered satisfactory. In 1905, when two sowings of
three varieties of wheat were made, one about the middle of Septem-
ber and the other nearly a month later, the average yield of the early
plantings was but 38 per cent of that of the late plantings, the differ-
ence of yield being largely due to the work of the Hessian fly. In but
one other year, 1908, has the Hessian fly been the source of much loss.
The damage then occurred just before harvest, and was estimated
at 15 or 20 per cent. The loss on the station farm was due to the
surrounding infested fields, where the injury ran much higher. It is
essential for farmers to act together in the use of clean cultural methods
and comparatively late seeding for the control of this pest. The ex-
tensive loss which sometimes occurs in infested communities can be
largely if not entirely prevented by united action.

VARIETY TESTS OF THE SMALL GRAINS.
WINTER WHEAT.

If the types of hybrids are considered as varieties, more than 1,200
varieties and strains have been tested, chiefly in rows, only 55 varie-
ties having been grown in plats. The row plantings are sown with a
garden drill in rows 12 inches apart and 33 feet long, with usually two
rows of a variety. This is a very satisfactory method for testing
varieties, as duplicate plantings have shown that the yields are
approximately the same in both row and plat plantings and that any
great difference can be accounted for satisfactorily. The plats used
in the field tests of varieties were one-tenth of an acre each.

240

VARIETY TESTS OF THE SMALL GRAINS.

13

In Table II, 47 varieties which have been grown in plats for more
than one year are listed. These are listed according to their average
yield for the four years 1906, 1907, 1908, and 1909, but only 34 have
comparable yields for each of these years. The remaining 13 varieties
follow in the order indicated by their 3-ields in the years when grown.
The first column of average yields includes the comparable yields of
the varieties in the preceding years of 1904 and 1905. All the figures
represent actual yields from tenth-acre plats, except 1437 and 1559
in 1906, which are of acre plats. In 1905, 12 of the varieties
were planted about the middle of September, while the remaining
ones, with 3 which were included in the first planting, were planted
about a month later. For the 3 varieties sown on both dates the
average yield of the early planting was 7.78 bushels, and of the late
planting 20.46 bushels per acre, or 2.63 times that of the early planting.
Owing to this great difference, the yields from the early planting are
not given, not being comparable. Along with these 9 varieties
are 6 of the later plantings which, for other reasons, gave yields that
are regarded as not comparable, thereby leaving only 24 out of the 39
varieties with comparable yields in that year. In the other years the
yield is not given in a few cases where the results are known to be not
comparable. Under the conditions prevailing on the station farm no
system of check plats could be advantageously used.

Table II. — Annual yields in bushels to the acre of varieties of winter wheat grown at
McPherson, Kans., from 1904 to 1909, with the average yields for the entire period and
for the four years 1906-1909.

G.I.

X0.1

1571
15S3
1559
1435
1442
1539
1437
1432
1558
1564
1662
1543
1560
1656
1532
1561
1783
1439
2906
395-2
1756
1562
1739
1658
13-55
1691
1S24
1757

Name of variety.

1904

Turkev. .
Kharkof.
Crimean.
....do...

Kharkof.
Torgova .
Crimean .
....do...

Turkey

Pesterboden

Roumanian

Beloglina

Banat

Roumanian

Red Russian

Theiss

Oklahoma (hard)

Ulta

Malakof

Diehl Mediterranean .

Missouri

Bacska

Budapest

Roumanian

Armavir

26. 54
26.58

25.90

23.66

35.33
18.75

20.17

Bosnian Winter

Zimmerman X Turkey
I Japanese Velvet Chafi .

24.00
"25." 42

22. 23

1905

1906

1 Grain investigations number.

2 Yields not comparable.

23.76

8

21.90
18.40

23.80

(2)
19.34

(2)

(2)

(2)
21.36

(2)

25.90
23.25

(2)
21.50

(2)

20.70
18.86

(2)

14.41
21.07
21.70

(2)

10.42

40.67
36.21

3 37. 93
37.83
35. 08
34.17

3 33. 74
36.04
34.79
36.30
35. 54
32.25
31.13
35.33
31.58
29.75
33. 54
30.29
28.71
24.88
33.88
30.46
30.42
30.21
29.38
27.71
24.63
2S.54

: '7

1908

1909

Average.

Gen-
eral.

20.63

20.25

22. C4

25. 47

20.63

19.13

22. 13

24.93

23.63

15.79

18.17

24.42

22.17

17.29

18.13

23.46

20.92

19.50

19. 46

23.81

17.38

16.67

20.96

22. 60

21.83

14.46

17.75

22.29

18.71

16.46

* 15. 88

21.29

13.50

17.79

20.50

24.38

17.50

14.17

< 17. 46

20.84

16.92

14.08

20.46

15.75

17.21

« 17. 92

20.90

16.38

17.00

* 18. 25

20.59

15.09

11.67

* 20. 46

21.09

16.13

17.96

16.71

21. 13

17. 46

16.17

18.96

21.27

11.29

14.71

21. 38

20.48

18.13

14.21

* 17. 46

21.10

17.42

12.21

21. < 8

18.88

18.25

17.04

19.95

14. 54

12. 75

«17.42

19.49

13.50

16.00

* 18. 38

20.11

15.08

15.63

* 17.21

18. 55

15.71

13.42

U7.83

19.65

19.46

12.54

* 15. 38

19.69

15.35

13. 75

* 18. 50

12.58

15.50

20. 3S

11.38

15.00

< 17.54

iy. 78

3 Yield from acre plat.
* Discarded.

25.90
24.53
23.88
23.86
23.74
22.30
21.95
21.77
21.65
21.36
21.00
20.78
20.69
20.64
20.60
20. 59
20.23
20.02
19.86
19.76
19.65
19.59
19. 59
19.29
19.19
18.83
1^. 27
18.12

240

14 GRAIN INVESTIGATIONS AT McPHEBSON, BANS., 1904-1909.

Table II. — Annual yields in bushels to the acre of varieties of winter wheat grown at
McPherson, Kans., from 1904 to 1909, with the average yields for the entire period and
for the four years 1906-1909 — Continued.

G.I.

No.

Name of variety.

1904

1905

1906

1907

1908

1909

Average.

Gen-
eral.

4-year.

2048

18.66
19.77
24.22
26.75
(2)

24.92
30. 13
25.00
23.96
24.04

11.96

8.83
10.00
10.50

7.13

13. 83

16.33

13.04

14.33

14. 13

16.54

8.46

111.54

i 14. 67

12.63

i 14. 00

i 12. 67

i 10. 29

14.54

10.54

19.04
i 14. 17

20. 33
l IS. 29

14.58

18.79
i 15.29

17.68

17. &5

18. 52
18.77
17. 46

17 44

1784

17 37

2042

17 09

2034

. do

16.77
14.97

2906

Currell

25.11

3010

Defiance

2907

22.71
32.17
32.17

7.17

18.67
12.88
(2)

15.58
13. 83
13. 13
12.54

'~22.~0J"
20.12

13 41

1436

23.50

20.77

1544

1730

1433

25.25

(2)
(2)

31.01

27.04
30.92

21.46

1676

1563

26. 63

"2T29"

18.29

20.14

3011

2979

Alberta Eed

1788-1

19.74
19.32
18.65

25.71
24.96
22. 04

18.25
16.71
18.50

178S-2

1787

Number of plats

14
25.32

3 24
21.06

41
30.18

44
15.05

41

14.80

39
13.51

1 Discarded.

-' Yields not comparable.

s Tbese yields are comparable for only 24 varieties, although 39 varieties were grown.

The leading variety in the four years for which comparable results
are shown, 1906 to 1909,wastheTurkey(G.I.No. 1571) with an average
yield of 25.90 bushels to the acre. The next highest yielding variety
was the Kharkof (G. I. No. 1583) with an average yield of 24.53 bushels.
The other varieties which ranked among the first 10 were the Kharkof
(G. I. No. 1442), the Crimean (G. I. Nos. 1432, 1435, 1437, and 1559),
the Turkey (G. I. No. 1558), the Torgova (G. I. No. 1539), and the
Pesterboden (G. I. No. 1564). With the exception of the Pesterboden
these are all strains of hard red winter wheat from southern Russia 1

i The sources from which these various strains were originally secured by the Bureau of Plant Industry
were as follows:

G.I. No. 1432. Crimean. (Seed and Plant Introduction No. 6017.) From Kurman-Kemelehi. Russia.
Received through Mr. M. A. Carleton, November, 1900.
G. I. No. 1435. Crimean. (S. P. I. No. 6015.) From Ambrocievka, Russia. Received through Mr.
M. A. Carleton, November, 1900.

G. I. No. 1437. Crimean. (S. P. I. No. 5636.) From Altonau, near Melitopol, in northern Taurida,
Russia. Received through Mr. M. A. Carleton, Dec. 12, 1900.

G. I. No. 1442. .Kharkof. (S. P. I. No. 5641.) From Starobyelsk, Kharkof, Russia. Received through
Mr. M. A. Carleton, Dec. 12, 1900.

G. I. No. 1539. Torgova. (S. P. I. No. 6007.) From Tsaritsyn, Russia. Received through Mr. M. A.
Carleton, November, 1900.

G. I. No. 155S. Turkey. Obtained originally in the Crimea, but grown at Halstead, Kans., for some
years before it was planted at McPherson.

G. I. No. 1559. Crimean. Imported in quantity of over 14,000 bushels from the Crimea in 1901, by the
millers of Kansas and Oklahoma, through Messrs. B. Warkentin and M. A. Carleton.

G. I. No. 1564. Pesterboden. (S. P. I. No. 5500.) From Budapest, Austria-Hungary. Received Sept
27, 1900.

G. I. No. 1571. Turkey. Originally from the Crimea, but grown in Kansas and then in British Colum-
bia before it was planted at McPherson.

G. I. No. 1583. Kharkof. (S. P. I. No. 7467.) From Kharkof, Russia. Received through Dr. A.
Boenicke, Aug. 29, 1901.

More complete descriptions of S. P. I. Nos. 5636, 5641, 6007, 6015, and 6017 are to be found in Bulletin 66,
Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1905.
240

VAEIETY TESTS OF THE SMALL GRAINS.

15

and are of the type quite commonly grown in Kansas. The record
made at this station shows the unquestioned superiority of this group

of wheats for this region.

BARLEY

Barley is but little grown in the vicinity of McPherson, and there
is not much market for it. Its production value ' per acre as a feeding
crop indicates that it should be more largely grown in this section
than it is at present. Some 200 varieties of barley have been tested,
31 of which have been grown in plats. The annual and average
yields of these 31 varieties for the years when each was grown are
shown in Table III.

Table III. — Annual yields in bushels to the acre of 29 varieties of spring barley and
2 varieties of winter barley grown at McPherson, Kans.,from 1904 to 1909, with avei-age
yields for the entire growth period of each variety and for the four years 1906-1909.

Class.

1904

1905

1906

1907

1909

Average.

-T: \ Name of variety.

Gen-
eral.

4-

year.

90

SPRING BARLEYS.

51.46
51. 77

44.48
50.63
48.91

36.20
33.07
45.42
40.94
30.16

35. K3
40.73
31. 15
30.52
27. 31
28.33
26.14
31.75
37.81

10.42
4.79
9.95
3.33

10.47
5.78
4.06
9.11
4.11
3.96
3.54
4.69
.73
5.63
4.90
1.98
3.44
3.85
2.13
3.96

33.85
32.45
30.47
22.29
17.08
28.23
26.82
16.77
25.42
25.10
23.85
15.26
16.41
14.11
14. 53
18.28
25.42
12.71
15. 75

2 26. 20
12. 83
24.90

2 15. 31

25. 55

25.26

27. OS

22.81

19.43

2 21.67

2 24.22

2 16.41

2 1.3. 7S

2 20. 94

2 23. 07

23.59

2 19.43

2 25. 21

2 23. 59

2 17.97

2 7.it2

2 20. 79

211. S8

"23.13'

'25.' 03'

i9.46

'22.66'
17.98
13. 44
23.67
19. 32
15.81
12.02
15.50
15.16
10.14

2(3. 50
15. 56

30.32

205

Yenidje

do

do

28.57

28.00

195
191
184

White Smyrna

Black Smyrna

Two-rowed .

do

Six-rowed. . .

22. 78

2>. 33

24.77
23.97
22.97

185
199
549

Baxters

.Mbacete

do

do

do

22.04
21.93
21.56

20
181
237
226

Perm

Rennie's Improved.
Manchuria

do

do

do

Two-rowed .

"sj.'oo'

20.04
19.80

19.33

235

19.03

240

212

do

Success

do

Hooded

lb. 39
16. 39

261

Six-rowed. . .

16.28

507

Boehme's Beardless
Black Hull-less

Hooded

1.5. S7

211

Hull-less

15.04

183

Two-rowed .

Six-rowed

263
190
194
265

(GartonBros.)

Beldi

Telli

(GartonBros.)

do

do ■ 22.35

do 27.50

do 1 24.15

Two-rowed . 25. 90
Six-rowed. . . 20. 22

5.25
30.00

12. .50
6.00
5.25

32.19
23. 48
« 21. 30
31. 35
29.69
30.99
29.26

2. 50
2.08

.83
(3)
.63

264
551

2 4.10

210

Xepaul Hull-less.. .
(Garton Bros.)

WFXTER BARLEYS.

Tennessee Winter . .
Marvland Winter. .

Hull-less

2 i5. 59

266

Two-rowed . 2 io. 14

Six-rowed. . . 62. 50
do

2.37
518

18.00

32.84

13. 65 20. 78
12.08 24.17

11.20
10.42

19.62

Number of plats of spring barlev. .. 7 7 1 27

Average vield 21.86 15.33 35.15

24 25

36 19.35

20

20.79

1 The production value of a feed is determined by feeding it in addition to a basal maintenance ration —
a ration'simply maintaining the animal in a certain desirable condition— and is measured by the gain fn
flesh produced'. The production value per acre is found by multiplying the yield of grain in pounds per
acre by the production value of one pound. This method shows that," taking the average yields of the
best varieties of each grain, barley ranks above ernmer and oats, the other small-grain feeds. *

- Variety discarded.

s Variety killed by late spring freeze.

240

16 GRAIN INVESTIGATIONS AT McPHEKSON, KANS., 3904-1909.

As shown in Table III, three varieties,1 Caucasian (G. I. No. 90),
Yenidje (G. I. No. 205), and Odessa (G. I. No. 182), have yielded
much higher than any of the others under test. The average yield
of the Caucasian for the four years 1906-1909 was 30.32 bushels, of
the Yenidje 28.57 bushels, and of the Odessa 28 bushels to the acre.
These are all six-rowed bearded varieties in which the beards are
almost wholly removed from the grain during thrashing. These
varieties are recommended to the farmers in central Kansas. No
other variety has averaged 25 bushels to the acre for this period.
In the plat work at this station the two-rowed varieties which might
otherwise have yielded well have been handicapped by their short-
ness of straw. Where these kinds will grow a sufficient length of
straw they will yield equally as well as the common six-rowed barleys
and the grain will be of a much better quality. It will be of heavier
weight, superior plumpness and appearance, and entirely free from
the objectionable beards usually present in the common varieties
after thrashing.

Neither the Tennessee Winter nor the Maryland Winter barle}^ has
proved to be a success, though the former has made an excellent
showing in other parts of the State. Neither the beardless nor
the hull-less varieties, so far as tested, are adapted to this section.

OATS.

On account of the larger yield in bushels per acre and the greater
ease in handling, oats are grown in this section to the practical exclu-
sion of barley, which yields more in pounds per acre and is more valu-
able pound for pound from a feeding standpoint. In the plat work, as
shown by Table IV, the yields of 33 varieties have been secured.
A few other varieties have been grown, from which no yield was
secured on account of destruction by rust or by winterkilling. In
only one case has a fall-sown oat survived the winter and produced
a crop. This was the Boswell Winter (G. I. No. 480) in 1908, when
it gave the highest yield in the variety tests for that year. The fol-
lowing year it entirely winterkilled, but it is believed that this variety
will prove a success as a winter oat. Other work in developing winter
strains and in testing spring varieties is carried on in row plantings.
Altogether some 200 varieties of oats have been tested. With the
exception of Boswell Winter, all the varieties shown in the table were
sown in the spring.

i These three varieties were originally received from the following:

G. I. No. 90. Caucasian. (S. P. I. No. 6023.) From North Caucasus, Russia. Obtained 30 miles east
of Stavropol, Aug. 9, 1900, through Mr. M. A. Carleton.

G. I. No. 205. Yenidje. (S. P.I. No. 3677.) From Yenidje, near Brusa, Asiatic Turkey. Received
through Mr. W. T. Swingle, July, 1899.

G. I. No. 182. Odessa. Received Mar. 17, 1902, from Indian Head, Saskatchewan, Canada.

VARIETY TESTS OF THE SMALL GRAINS.

17

Table I V.— Annual yield in bushels to the acre of 33 varieties of oats grown at McPherson,
Kans., from 1904 to 1909, with the average yield for the entire growth period of each
cariety, and for the four years, 1906-1909.

No.

165
337
261
260
170
256
264
236
286
226
293
227
228
225
244
445
230
243
219
444
441
459
451
4S3
480
135
213
509
481
443
442
4^H
274

Name of variety.

1904

1905

Sixty-Day 44. 88

Seventyfive-Day

Georgia Rustproof : .

Red Rustproof

Perm

33.

Red Rustproof

Mapstone I

Red Rustproof

Red Algerian j 29. 36

Red Rustproof '

Burt I 40.71

-•-dp

do

Calgary Gray .
Burt.

1906

30. 72

White Tatar ! 36.88 !

Alaska '

Black Hussar

Prince Edward Island

Canadian 28. 75

Danish 26. 88

Kherson

Red Rustproof 37. 50

Shatilovsky

Bos well Winter

Tobolsk I 8.75; 16.25

Swedish Select \ 29. 50 i

Golden Rustproof

Prolific

Sparrowbill

Dun

(Unnamed)

Snoma

43.52
i 51. 00
50.47
51.02
50.23
46.56
47.73
48.67
42.03
45.55
42.19
36.25
35. 16
40.39
30. 63
44.17
31.64
34. 69
34.45
37.27
42.42

(3)

(3)

42.81
39.77

29-38
33. 75

33. 39
17. 73

2 17. 27

1907

1908

4.70
4.92
8.13
3.44
6.25
6.02
2.89
4. 45
5.31
2.11
3.44
5.08
5.39
2.34
3.83
4.69
5.70
5.16
4.14
3.59
2.34
6.72

1.02
1.48

.78

49.06
39.45
31.56
35.08
37.73
33.44
35.63
33. 59
37.11
38.13
34.06
36.88
38.75
24.38
34.38
23.36
33.52
20.31
25.00
16.25
16.25
41.17
36. 95
26.41
50. 55
2 12.31
2 11.49
17.13
23. 44
2 5.25
21.09
7.65

1909

52.97

50.78

48.13

48.28

43. 13

50.16

47.66

2 43.83

44.45

2 39. 77

2 38. 28

2 39. 38

36.88

43. 67

2 40. 00

2 34. 92

2 33. 28

2 38. 98

2 31.02

2 33. 05

2 22. 81

49.92

46.41

40.16

(4J

2 32. 23
2 20.00

2 14. 30

Number of plats
Average yield . . .

4 I 11
30.91 30.08

= 26

39.89

31 27

29.23 i 39.43

Average.

General.

4-year.

38. 13

37.56

36.54

34. 57

34. 46

34.34

34.05

33.48

32.64

31.49

32.23

31. 39

31.03

29.49

29.40

29.05

27.70

27.21

28.80

26.79

26.04

24.79

23.65

23.78

22.54

22.14

20.96

32.60

31.60

33.29

25.28

16.23

20.56

24.68

21.72

17.20

17.52

10.98

17.27

1 Yield corrected, or average of 2 or more plats.
1 Variety discarded.

3 Yield not comparable.

4 Winterkilled.

6 28 varieties grown.

The highest yield for the four years 1906 to 1909, as shown in the
table, was secured from the Sixt}~-Day oat (G. I. Xo. 165), 37.56
bushels to the acre. Seventyfive-Day (G. I. No. 337), another oat
of the same type, was second, with 36.54 bushels. Georgia Rust-
proof (G. I. No. 261) was third; Red Rustproof (G. I. No. 260) was
fourth; and Perm (G. I. No. 170) was fifth.1 The first, second, and
fifth of these varieties are of the Sixty-Day type of oats. In 1906
the plats of No. 459 Kherson and No. 451 Red Rustproof were in
a different part of the field and under better conditions. Their
yields were higher than the other oats and if these yields were included

ot>

1 The sources from which these varieties were originally obtained were as follows:

G. I. No. 165. Sixty-Day. (S. P. I. No. 5938.) From Proskurov, Podolia Government, Russia,
tained through Mr. C I. Mrozinski, of Proskurov, 1901.

G. I. No. 337. Seventyfive-Day. (S. P. I. No. 5168.) From Proskurov, Russia. Received through Mr.
C. I. Mrozinski, of Proskurov, Russia, in 1900.

G. I. No. 261. Georgia Rustproof. Received Mar. 30, 1903, from M. W. Johnson Seed Co., Atlanta, Ga.

G. I. No. 260. Red Rustproof. Received Mar. 30, 1903, from M. W. Johnson Seed Co., Atlanta, Ga.

G. I. No. 170. Perm. (S. P. I. No. 538.) From Province of Perm, Russia. Received through Prof.
N. E. Hansen, March, 1898.

240

18 GRAIN INVESTIGATIONS AT McPHERSON, KANS., 1904-1909.

G.I.
No.

Name of variety.

1904

1905

1908

1909

Average.

1906

1907

Gen-
eral.

4-year.

2086

Durum wheat:

11.00
12.67
11.67
10.33
16.25

11.67
11.25
14.50
9.75
14. 17

21.67
25.63
24.50
16.67
24.04

30.67

29.87
32. 9*5

0.00
.00
.00

'"'".'66'

12.50
11.02
12. 36
19.81

1.83

1.30

31.10

2 7.15
16.17
2 3. 83

0)

13. 46
0)
C1)

0)

22.63

27.28
20.80
26.47

2 5.25
2 6.15
77.00

2 11.63
12.63
13.42

2 10. 88
13.83

11.12
12.90
10.31
12.81

2094
2100

Kubanka

12.61

13.43

2228

2246

1

"Winter rye:

19.23
20.27
19.11
19.70

19.23

13

Do...

20.27

34

19.11

34

1522

Emmer:

30.83
24.44
53.33

32.68
34.75
35.04
33.30

49.20

1527

2337

Black Winter

18. 75

7.94
13.75
11.17

47.20

45.47

52.16

1781

Einkorn:

2226

Do....

28.42

2.00

18.62

19.85

2433

Do....

1780

11.47

35. 60

34.25
60.00

2 12. 17
42.40

44. 13

22.80

1772

Spelt:

Red Winter

33. 44

46.80

i Record of yields lost; not more than 13.46 bushels.

2 Discarded.

The work with miscellaneous crops has not been extensive, but
enough has been done to demonstrate that durum wheat, spring
emmer, einkorn, and proso will not succeed in this locality.

The average yield of the Kubanka durum wheat for the four years
1906-1909 was 13.43 bushels to the acre, as compared with 25.90
bushels from the Turkey Winter wheat for the same period. The
other varieties of durum wheat included in the test yielded about
the same as the Kubanka. No spring wheat of any other type than
the durum was grown.

The Black Winter emmer averaged 52.16 bushels to the acre for
the four years 1906-1909, and the Red Winter spelt 46.80 bushels.
Spring emmer and winter and spring einkorn produced much smaller
3rields of grain than the winter emmer and the winter spelt. These

240

it would place these two among the live leading varieties. The
Kherson is of the Sixty-Day type, and for the three years 1907 to 1909
it was but slightly inferior to the Sixty-Day in point of yield. The
types of oats best adapted to this locality are the Sixty-Day and the
Red Rustproof.

OTHER GRAIN CROPS.

In addition to the testing of varieties of winter wheat, barley, and
oats, similar work has been done with durum wheat, rye, emmer,
spelt, einkorn, proso, nonirrigated rice, corn, and buckwheat. The
yields produced by several varieties of durum wheat, spelt, emmer,
einkorn, and winter rye are given in Table V.

Table V. — Annual yield in bushels to the acre of several varieties of durum wheat,
winter rye, emmer, spelt, and einkorn, grown at McPherson, Kans., from 1904 to
1909, with the average yields for the entire growth period of each variety and for the four
years 1906-1909.

ROTATION EXPERIMENTS. 19

grains are closely related to wheat, but the grain remains inclosed in
the chaff and does not thrash out like wheat. Emmer and spelt
are used for feeding live stock and compare favorably with oats and
barley for that purpose. The large yields produced by the Black
Winter emmer and the Red Winter spelt indicate that these grains
may be of considerable value in central Kansas as producers of grain
for feeding.

Winter rye has done very well. In the years 1907 and 1909, and
possibly also in 1905, much damage to this crop resulted from a
check to the growth at a critical period caused by unfavorable
weather conditions after the crop was well advanced toward maturity.
Where rye is grown for its yield of grain in this section it seems
desirable to pasture it during the winter months in order to keep
it from heading too early.

Proso has been a failure in all the trials. In 1909 a few varieties
of nonirrigated rices were grown with promising results. Further
tests are necessary before any recommendation can be made in
regard to this crop.

Some variety testing has been done with corn, 23 varieties being
grown in 1904 and 9 varieties in 1905. Since that time the work with
corn has been confined to the rotation experiments. These tests
showed that United States Plant-Breeding Selection 77 gave the best
quality of corn; hence, this strain was grown in the rotation experi-
ments instituted in 1905 and the testing of varieties was discontinued.

Fair results have been secured with buckwheat. Twelve or fifteen
varieties have been tested in row plantings and three or four in plat
plantings. A date-of-planting test, which included plantings in
April, May, and the first half of June, indicated that the third and
fourth weeks of April is the most favorable time for sowing buck-
wheat. It is possible that a date later than the middle of June may
be found on further testing even better than the April plantings.
The Sando Soba, a variety of the Japanese type, seems to be the best
variety of those tested. The Chinese buckwheats are hardier and
more drought resistant than are the other varieties, and generally
they are longer in maturing. The small size and peculiar shape of the
kernel of the Chinese buckwheats make them less attractive in
appearance than the Japanese type. No information with regard to
the comparative milling value of the different types was secured.

ROTATION EXPERIMENTS.

In 1905, 20 tenth-acre plats were set aside to test the effect of con-
tinuous cropping in comparison with alternate cropping of a small
grain crop and corn. The original plan included the use of alfalfa and
brome-grass in a rotation and the use of cowpeas and vetch as green-

240

20 GKAIN INVESTIGATIONS AT MrPHERSON, KANS., 1904-1909.

manure crops, but these features were not completely carried out.
The grains used in the continuous-cropping test were Tennessee
Winter barley, Kharkof wheat, Sixty-Day oats, Red Rustproof oats,
Ivanov rye, and Van Meter corn. To introduce the use of rye as a
green-manure crop the continuous-cropping test of rye was aban-
doned. The results from the check plat in the alternate cropping of
wheat and corn were made valueless by growing a crop of winter
barley instead of wheat on it in 1906. With rye and wheat thus
eliminated, the effect of continuous cropping was observed for the
five years with but four grains, winter barley, corn, and two varie-
ties of oats. While the period was too short to show very decisive
results, the yields obtained favor the alternation of crops.

SMUT PREVENTION.

The loss occasioned by the grain smuts caused the institution of
smut-treatment experiments on the station farm. The seed for the
plat plantings in 1907 was treated with formalin, as follows: A solu-
tion was made by adding 1 pound of formalin to 50 gallons of water.
The seed was suspended in a bag in this solution for 15 minutes or
longer and then slowly dried. This treatment in most cases will
prevent the stinking smut of wheat, the smut of oats, and the covered
smut of barley. No appreciable diminution in the loose smuts in
wheat or barley was noticeable, however, but there was no smut
in the oats so treated. The next year all the wheats and barleys,
including variety row tests, were given modified hot-water treat-
ments, as follows: Wheat was soaked in cold water for 7 hours and
then treated 15 minutes at 54° C; barley was soaked in cold Water 7
hours and then treated 15 minutes at 52° C; and oats were treated
10 minutes in water at 57° C. without any previous soaking. In the
crop following these treatments there was no loose smut in the wheat,
only a trace of loose smut was in three of the varieties of barley, and
there was no smut in the oats.

In the year 1909 no smut treatments were given and, with the
exception of the durum wheats and winter barleys, smut was present
in all the grains and in nearly all the varieties. This was undoubt-
edly due to infection of the grain at flowering time the preceding year,
when loose-smut spores were blown from adjoining smutty fields to
the station fields.

From the experience with the various smut treatments the follow-
ing conclusions are drawn: (1) Loss from oat smut may easily be
prevented by the formalin treatment, which is simple, effective, and
inexpensive. (2) The modified hot-water treatment x is successful ia

1 A full description of the hot-water treatment for the loose smuts of barley and wheat is contained i»
Bulletin 152, Bureau of Plant Industry, TJ. S. Department of Agriculture.
240

SUMMARY. 21

preventing the loose smuts of wheat and barley. (3) Where sur-
rounded by smutted fields, treatment of the seed each year is neces-
sary to insure absolute freedom from smut.

SUMMARY.

Experiments with cereals were conducted at McPherson, Kans.,
from 1904 to 1909 by the Office of Grain Investigations of the Bureau
of Plant Industry in cooperation with the Kansas Agricultural Ex-
periment Station.

The leading object of the work was to determine the two or three
best varieties of each of the grains for the wheat belt of the State
and to introduce these superior varieties on the farms throughout the
section.

Other objects of the work were to originate better types of grain
and improved strains of the best standard varieties, to demonstrate
the importance of good seed-bed preparation in connection with the
use of good seed, and to show the inadvisability of the continuous
growing of a single crop.

The conditions were not very favorable for experimental work, as a
part of the field was not well drained and all of it was badly infested
with weeds.

The mean annual rainfall at McPherson is 32.5 inches. There was
no serious drought during the period covered by the experiments.

With the exception of the year 1904 rust did not seriously damage
any of the crops.

Smut was almost universally present and caused great damage.

The invasion in 1907 of the "green bug" (Toxoptera graminum
Rond.) was very destructive, but the invasions of this insect are very
rare.

In 1905 and again in 1908 the Hessian fly caused great loss, showing
the need of cooperation among grain growers in later fall seeding
and clean cultural methods to keep this insect in check.

Three varieties of hard winter wheat from Russia, the Turkey, the
Kharkof, and the Crimean, gave the highest yields and are recom-
mended for general planting.

The best yielding barleys, the Caucasian, the Odessa, and the
Yenidje, are all six-rowed bearded varieties. The winter barleys
tested produced much lower yields than the best spring varieties.

The Sixty-Day and the Red Rustproof are the two types of oats
best adapted to this section.

Durum wheats, spring emmer, spring spelt, einkorn, and proso did
not prove to be profitable grain crops in this section. Winter emmer
and winter spelt yielded well and good crops of winter rye were pro-
duced. A single year's trial of nonirrigated rice shows it to be worthy
of further testing.

240

22 GRAIN INVESTIGATIONS AT McPHERSON, KANS., 1904-1909;

No extensive variety testing of corn has been carried on, but in the
rotation experiments it has proved to be a very satisfactory crop
from the crop-value standpoint.

Buckwheat has not been extensively tested. From the results
which were obtained, however, the best varieties seem to be of the
Japanese type. Early planting gave the highest yields.

The rotation experiments were not conducted long enough to make
the results reliable or to secure the full benefit of the rotations, but
alternation of crops produced higher yields than the continuous
growing of a single crop.

Experiments in the treatment of small grains for smut showed that
oat smut can be controlled by the formalin treatment, while the hot-
water treatment was a success in preventing the loose smuts of barley
and wheat,

240

o

f ■>. -':.