The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1916-08-31
Boney Tells Story Of
Rust Resistant Wheat

. .
Because of the success with which
! rust resistant wheat was grown in
that vicinity this year, a jamestown
newspaper man took up the matter
with Professor H. l.. Bolley, of the
/ North Dakota extension department
of the agricultural college, to learn a
little of the history of this grain,
which is such sensation and has
,, aroused the attention Of every farmer
in the state this year. Prof. Bolley
stated that the chief merit of rust re-
sistant wheat will be it's power to re-
/ sist "scab" and other funsarial and
fungus root blight, that yields of the
grain on the agricultural college farm
have been most encouraging, and that
the wheat, itself, has proved worthy
Of increase on disease garden plots.
I'm 1911 l put into the hands Of
several farmers a number of wheat
collections which for some years had
given good results on our trial
grounds" said Professor Bolley. Zone
of these given out under the name of
ID s. has proved to be an exception
ally good yielder in the presence Of
blight and rust. It proved itself wor.
thy of increase on our disease garden
plots in 1904, 1905 and 1906 and has
since 1911 held it's own in the hands
Of number of farmers. notably in the
Wimbledon-Fe ssenden district of the
state of North Dakota.
'The elevator men bought it two or
three years without discrimination,
but lately have claimed it to be bad
milling wheat and have discounted it
much more heavily than any of the
small milling tests yet made warrant.
It was first selected as individual
plants by me from Russian fields,
southeast Of Kazan in 1903-and has
since been grown by me as several
straight selection-strains in the plant
disease gardens at the agricultural
college. There are now various grades
of more or less mixed lots in use on
many farms in North Dakota, South
Dakota and Minnesota. Reports seem
generally favorable to it as heavy
yielder, under rust conditions, in most
regions. but more especially in the
dryer, lighter land areas.
while it is clearly quite resistant
to rust, l believe that its chief merit
rests in its apparent power to resist
'scab' and other funsarial and fungus
root blights against which have been
holding it steadily to account. The
methods of selection has been to grow
it continually on wheat sick, fungus
infested soil, and each year to grade
it by mill and hand selection to the
plumpest, best seed before planting.
The result is very acknowledgement
though it does not prove to be Of the
highest Quality-for it points out the
way to follow with it and other
strains.
crust resistant wheat is similar to
the various durum Wheats In most
characteristics. am hoping this sea-
son to establish more clearly its real
merits as to milling value as many
farmers on different land areas have
promised to send in sufficient for
larger tests. Furthermore. its native
region is dryer, lighter land and when
is has been given larger trial under
these conditions hope to see it lose
many of it's black points which are
due to disease only. When these are
lost by cultivation on the newer, more
disease-free lands of the west much
Of the dark color Of the -four may nat
urally disappear"