Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1904-03-25
HOW TO BREED UP CORN.
Now Employed to I'M
prove the Yield and Quality.

prove the lelO anu qualify.
(By Prof Cyril G Hopkins chief ir
rAgronomy, Illinois College Of Agri
culture ."a
In corn breeding there are required
First, the breeding plot; second. tht
multiplying plot; third, the commercial
field
Beginning with about fifty of the bes
obtainable seed ears. selected with spe
cial reference to the qualities or charac
teristics desired we plant the breeding
plot, which should consist of as many
field rows as we have seed ears, one eal
being planted id each row A record II
made of The characr eristics of each seei
ear and the seed ears and field rows ar,
so numbered that the performance rec
ord of each seed ear can be determined
by the yield and other characteristic
of the field row produced AS the tassel'
begin to appear all apparently inper
feet plants and all plants in unsatisfac
tory rows are detasseled.
Each of the field rows is harvested
separately, the exact yield being regis
tered. The most desirable ears borne
on good stalks are kept separate from
the imperfect ears All corn is rejected
for seed purposes except the most desir
able ears from the bes, yielding rows
For breeding plot of fifty rows w
would select about five ears from eact
of the then best yielding rows, making
fifty seed ears for the next years breed
ing plot. The remaining good seed earl
from the ten best yielding rows consti
tute the seed corn for the next years
multiplying plot, which will usually
consist of ten TO twenty acres. All ap
parently imperfect plants in the multi
plying plot are detasseled and the yield
of corn product is registered.
All of the most desirable seed eart
produced in the multiplying plot serve
az the seed corn for the next years com
mercial field, which may consist of sew
eral hundred acres. When the CONNER.
cial field is harvested the yield is regis
tered and the finest seed ears are Sc
iected and carefully dried with arti
fetal heat if necessarily and they con
stitute the first stock pedigreed seed
corn for The market.
1t will thus be seen that three years
time is required before the seed corr
breeder is able to furnish to the market
pedigreed seed corn from his CONNER
cial field.
The breeder himself does not PLAN
seed corn taken from his own CONNER
cial field. Each year his own stock seei
comes from his multiplying plot, and
the seed from the multiplying plo
must always come from the best yield
ing rows of the breeding plot, this seei
being second only to the fifty most per
feet ears which are each year selected
for the next years breeding plot.
In general this is the method of corr
breeding which is followed. We maj
breed corn only to increase the yield o
grain. or we may also breed for many
other purposes; to improve the physical
characteristics; to increase or decrease
the height or size of the stalk; to rsis'
or lower the ear on the stalk; to i'm
prove the composition of the grain b.
increasing or decreasing the protein, Of
or carbohydrates, as msy be desired.
No sooner had the Illinois experiment
station worked out the method ant
demonstrated absolutely (although on ,
small scale) that marked improvement
of corn by breeding is possible, than tn
Illinois Seed Corn Breeders association
(and more recently several other similar
associations) took up the work. and
they are rapidly demonstrating that tn
breeding of corn is practicable and pro
ftable on very small scale. The indi
viduality of the seed ear becomes ap
parent when one field row yields 81
bushels per acre and another adjoining
row planted from a different seed ca
but on the same kind of soil produces
12O bushels per acre. Such difference
are not unusual in breeding plot.
In changing the protein content o
corn we began breeding the same kint
of corn in two different ways, one 10
to increase the protein, the other lot t,
decrease the protein. The first year tn
percentage of protein was the same i,
each lot. The second year it was differ
snt by 65 per cent, the third year by g.
per cent, the fourth year by 1.6O pc
cent. the fifth year by / .9s per cent, tn
sixth year by 4.O7 per cent, and tn
seventh year by 400 per cent.
Similarly we have tried to chang
the oil content in two lots of what wa
originally the same kind of corn. in
creasing the oil in the one and decreas
ing 1t in the other. The first tho on
lot contained 40 per cent of oil, and o
course the other lot contained the sam,
per cent. The second year the one con
tanned 4.75 and the other4 06 per cent
the third year the one contained 81
and the other 3 90 per cent, and tn
fourth year the one contained 564 an
the other 3.S2 per cent. the fifth yea
the one contained 6.1O and the othe
s. 81 per cent, the sixth year the on
contained 600 and the other 3.43 pc
cent. and the seventh year the one cor
tninad G O3 and thu other l5 ner cont