The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1914-04-17
WHEAT IN SOUTH DA.
kOTA
BY l.. S. OAKLAND.
Assistant in Agronomy State College,
erookinas.

varieties Of durum wheat, but the i'm
portation Of kubanka wheat in 1900
has proven to be one Of the best durum
wheats for South Dakota. There are
two strains Of Kubanka, but Kubanka
l440 is the best yielder at present.
Possibly a Wild Goose variety has
been grown in the state for some time.
This variety is not as good a yielder
nor as good a milling wheat as the
above named.
Durum wheat (Triticum durum) is
closely related to the common wheats
which comprise the principal wheat
crops of this country. The durum va
rieties are all spring wheats, at least
90 far as is known.
Durum wheat differs from common
wheat in size and character OF both
plant and grain. The plants are usual
ly taller and the leaves are broader
than the common wheats. The head
is more compact and square, and d
boards are long and persistent, which
6i< IS the plant somewhat the resum.
blance of barley. The chaff Is brown
or black, and may be smooth or vel
vety. kubanka 144O is not a pure
strain since n often finds It mixed
with black heads. The grain is a light
amber color, differing from the com
mon wheats which are dark red. The
kernels are larger and harder than the
common wheat. One objection may
be raised because of the boards. but
yoor1, oil Tho f,rn,nro 1iyinO In tho
dryer belts raise Bearded Fife.
The advantages of raising durum
wheat are that 1t is quite resistant to
smut and rust, although different va.
rieties Of this grain are also note
worthy. A five years test at the High
more station gave a yield OF sever and
one-half bushels OF grain over any
other variety of common wheat, base!
on a %five-year average. In regions OF
less than 20 inches OF rainfall it will
yield better than any Of the common
Wheats. Red Fife outyielded the du-
rum wheat at the Brookfngs station.
However. we may be quite safe in say
more than 20 inches, the common
wheats will outyield the durum wheat.
The greatest encouragement in the
raising of durum wheat was hat it
brought less on the market than the
common variety. In 1902 the price for
durum wheat was 10 cents below the
common wheat, while in 1912 durum
wheat sold for 5 cents premium above
COMMON wheat. The figures are taken
from the quotations at Duluth, Mimi,
on December l.
Experimental evidence has shown
hat Kubanka 1440 yields as high a
per cent Of -four as does the best com
nor wheats, although the percentage
Of high grade -four is less. The per
centage of shorts, however. is greater.
| while that Of bran is less from durum
than from common wheat. The hard
ness of the durum kernel increases
the cost of milling. Millers have esti-
mated the cost Of grinding to be Is
cents a barrel more than for common
wheat. The baking qualities CT durum
-four arc high. 1t contains more crude
protein than does the f1ours made
from other classes OF wheat. The col
or Of durum wheat -four is more yellow
| than that made from other wheats, and
this is held Objectionable by some
people.
The culture for durum wheat is
much the same as for common wheat.
The date of seeding is the same, but
the rate CT seeding would be more
| since it does not stool as much. Three
stools to a plant. is about the average
for a good field. while some of the com
mon wheat varieties stool more than
twice as much. Three to five pecks
per acre will be about right for most
parts of South Dakota. The drill
should be opened wider than for the
same amount OF common wheat since
the kernels are much larger.
If one Is to make a success in the
raising Of durum wheat, two things
must be kept in mind: % Sow a
good variety. Kubanka 1440 is one OF
the bsst varieties. 1t is hard to get
any quantity Of this seed now, either
from the seed houses or from expert.
ment stations. 1t will be but a short
time before large quantities can be
obtained, and in the meantime you
may be planning out a rotation con
tanning 6urum wheat, sweet clover, and
corn or any rotation which will keep
up the permanent fertility Of the soil
The raising OF more legumes and dairy
cattle will be the only solution.
(2) One of the greatest objections
the buyer finds today is the difficulty
OF buying pure wheat. Much OF the
durum wheat on the market today con.
tAins a large per cent Of common
wheat, such mixtures being very ob1ec.
! tionable to the millers and result in
materially reducing the price OF the
crop. Mixtures of over 10 per cent are
very common. and these mixtures can
aot spell but loss to the raiser. In
cutting the durum wheat. we should
wait until It is dead ripe. since q great
shrinkage will result II harvested when
100 green. 1t does not shatter as the
bearded common wheats do, so that M
loss will result when harvested in the