Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1909-04-15
SEED wheat
How to Select, Clean and Test
Seed Wheat. Prepared for
Minnesota Farmers.
SELECTION OF SEED.

has been grown in your own state
rather than imported and unac-
claimed seed. Preference should
be given to the standard varieties
of Fife and Blue Stem as they are
sure to commend the best price,
By giving careful attention to the
selection of seed and the cultivation
of the soil the yields of Fife and
Blue Stem can be increased, and
the quality of grain secured.
USE OF WHEAT GRADER AND FAN
MING MILL.
Where the wheat grader is avail
able it should be used to screen out
the small sized kernels. Where the
grader is not available, use the fam
ming mill. Some farmers follow the
excellent practice of putting their
seed wheat through both the grad
er and the tanning mill. The larger
kernels, as rule, come from the
larger and more productive wheat
heads, and hence the seed wheat
grader and tanning mill have a
tendency to remove the smaller,
less mature and less productive
kernels. The heavy weight seeds
contain the most nourishment and
reserve plant food which gives the
young wheat plants a better start
in the early spring than in the case
of light weight seed.
TESTING TERMINATING
The terminating power of the
seed can be tested by planting in
moist sand or dirt a given number
of seeds and discriminating the
number which germinate, or the
seed can be germinated between
moist pieces of blotting paper or
cloth. If there is any reason to
doubt the vitality of the seed the
terminating power should be test
ed.
FoRMALIN TREATMENT OF SEED TO
KILL SMUT SPORES.
After the wheat is cleaned, it is
an excellent plan to give the seed
the formalin treatment to kill the
smut spores. One pound of forma-
lin is dissolved in fifty gallons of
water, and the seed is either sprin-
kled with this solution or immersed
in it for fifteen to thirty minutes.
AS the wheat absorbs water allow
ance should be made for increase in
weight and bulk when seeding.
Rate OF SEEDING.
The amount of seed to use per
acre should vary to slight extent
with the sige Of the kernels. The
larger the kernels the heavier the
rate of seeding so as to secure the
requisite number of strong, vigor-
GUS wheat plants per acre. When
the wheat is we'll cleaned, there is
some compensation in that there is
higher terminating power. If the
seeding is late and backward, a
little more seed should be used than
in early spring when better condi-
tions exists for stooling. There is
a tendency to use too scant rather
than too much seed, but an excess
is unnecessary. Usually about IS
pounds per acre of plump, we'll
cleaned, heavy weight seed will
give best results.
INCREASES IN YIELD.
The Minnesota, North Dakota,
Kansas, Nebraska, and other Agri-
culture Experiment Stations have
demonstrated that selected heavy
weight seeds produce stronger
plants and more and better grain
then light weight seed. It is reas-
enable to expect an increase in
yield of from one to three bushels
per acre as we'll as grain of better
quality by carefully selecting and
screening the wheat. 1t will pay
to do so.
NEW VARIETIES OF WHEAT.
There are a number of new vari-
ties of wheat as Velvet Chaff, John
sons Wheat and No. 1873 which
have good physical appearance,
yield we'll and have high test
weight, but are poor bread wheats.
They make -four that produces
smaller, darker and inferior breads