Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1898-06-16
= i NeHz
FlELpahp GARpEN
SEED TREATMENT.
Remarkable Increase In Yield From
Treating Grain For Smut

Remarkable Increase In Yield From
Treating Grain For Smut.
One of the most remarkable and un-
expected results of the hot water and
potassium sulphide seed treatment of
grain, especially of oats, is an increase
in the yield beyond the amount that
would result from merely replacing
every smutted head with sound one.
w. Z. Swingle author of farmer g
bulletin on "The Grain SHUTS, dis
cusses this point as follows: This extra
increase was noticed first by Professor
KeIlerman and the writer, in expert
ments made with oats in 1889, the hot
water treatment in this case increasing
the yield more than twice what would
be calculated from the per cent of smut
in adjoining untreated plats. This re-
markable result was obtained in all sub
sequent trials and was also noted by
Jensen and Arthur
In the various experiments of the in
vestigators named the extra increase in
yield ranged from one-half to six times
the amount to be expected from replac-
ing the smutted heads with sound ones,
and in even higher proportions when
the percentage of smut was small On
an average the increase in yield has
been found to be double or treble what
would result from suppressing the visi-
BILE smut In consequence of this re-
markable benefit, comparable with
what Mr.. Galloway has shown to occur
where bordeaux mixture was used on
the potato and on some other plants, it
will undoubtedly be profitable to treat
oats for seed when only or 3 per cent
of the heads arc smutted.
When used for seed oats, the potas-
stun sulphide treatment has uniformly
given large extra increase i'll yield,
the increase being almost equal TO that
resulting from treating seed with hot
water. The copper sulphate and lime
treatment gives no extra increase what
ever in the case of oats.
Jensen found a similar extra increase
as result Of treating seed barley with
hot water, and Professor Kellerman has
reported an extra increase in yield from
treating wheat for sinking smut with
hot water and also with several copper
compounds. In Kellermans expert
ments there was, however, an enormous
amount of smut present in many of the
untreated plats, reaching rs to 80 per
cent. Where only small per cent of
smut is present in seed wheat it is prob
able that little if any extra increase in
yield would result from treating it.
AS to the cause of the extra increase
in yield as a result of seed treatment
opinions are divided. 1t is probably due
in part to an increased germinative
power of the seed, causing them to
sprout sooner and the young plants to
grow faster. 1t has been shown that
oats treated with not water terminate
much more quickly than do untreated
oats, even if the grain has been dried.
Professor Kellerman has shown that
potassium sulphide treatment has the
same effect on both oats and corn, and
further that seed which had Leen treat
ed with hot water or potassium sui
phide terminated quicker, even after
y months, than untreated seed. DR..
Arthur claims that this FASTENED germi-
nation is due to the liberation at once
Of large quantities of diastase by the
action of heat, enabling the young plant
to quickly avail itself of the reserve of
starch stored i'll the seed. This does
not, however. account for the action of
potassium sulphide.