Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1918-05-14

Oat Breeding at Aroostook Farm.
(studies by Maine Agricultural Experiment
| station.)
| The Legislature of 1918 passed tbs
act authorizing the purchase Of the
farm now known as Aroostook Farm
and directing the Maine Agricultural
Experiment Station to "Conduct
scientific Investigations bearing upon
the agriculture of Aroostook County"
Small grains are an important crop in
the County. Preliminary studies had
indicated the need for improvement in
varieties and possible notifications Of
cultural methods.
Oat breeding experiments have been
conducted at Aroostook Farm since
1914. This work has been directed to-
ward developing new and improved
varieties Of oats which would be better
adapted to the conditions in the northern
part of this state than those now grown.
The work has been carried on along 8
principal lines: Variety tests, Pure line
selections and Hybridization work.
Comparative trials of commercial
varieties, more popular in the central
part OF the state we're begun in 1914, and
we're continued In 1915 and 1915. The
detailed results of these experiments
were published in Bulletins 240 and 260.
These results indicate that certain
varieties of oats which are we'll adapted
to ths conditions in the central and
southern part of the state are not suited
to Aroostook conditions. It was propos-
ed to continue these variety tests for q
number of years. Owing, however, to
the movement for increased production
Of farm products 10 connection with the
war emergency, II was deemed advisable
to temporarily discontinue the variety
test In 1917 and seed the acreage avail
able for small grains to Maine $40 which
has proved to be one of the best varieties
so far obtained for Aroostook.
As further means of developing new
and better varieties the work with pure
line selections was undertaken. The
principle of this work is based on the
isolation of prepotent Individual plants
out of standard commercial varieties.
In 1914 several hundred individual plants
were selected from varieties known to
have been grown in Aroostook for
several years. In 1915 the seed from
each of these plants was sown In a
separate row in the nursery or breeding
garden. Thus the plants OF each row
were the offspring Of single, self-fertil-
ICED plant of the year before, aud rep
resented what Is called "pure line"
Careful notes were taken on each row,
and those that showed the most desir-
able characters were harvested and
threshed, each row by itself. In 1915
the seed Of each Of the most promising
rows was planted in replicate plots
each 10000 acre In area. The rather
high number of replications offered
safer basis in the subsequent analysis of
the merits of each pure line than when
only one or plots to each strain are
used. In the latter case the real diff
ferences in the character Of strain may
be obscured by soil Irregularities. Out
of the 100 strains grown In 1915 only 20
pure lines were continued in 1917 in 1-2O
acre plots. In 1918 about 10 of these
pure lines will be tested and propagated
under field conditions using triplicate
plots lilo acre to each strain.
The hybridization work with oats,
while primarily conducted In the in
tersst of scientific Investigations re-
garding the mode of inheritance OF the
various characters of oats, promises also
results of commercial value. The re-
latively short growing season prevailing
ip Aroostook has led the farmers to
grow early maturing oat varieties. The
majority Of these early varieties, how
ever, are light yielding oats. Conse-
ha fafS
the attempt is being made to combine,
through crossing, the high yielding
Qualities of medium late and late varieties
with the character Of earliness OF the
Aroostook grown varieties. Since 1915
several crosses have been made which
will be tested In 10000 acre plots in
1918. II addition to hybrid oats
originated In the breeding work st
AroostoOk Farm, oat crosses between
varieties which appear promising for
Aroostook conditions have been taken
from Highmoor Farm, and tested In
garden rows and small plots at Aroos-
took Farm.
In work where it is necessary to start
with single specimens and develop new
strains from . single seed, 1t takes .
number Of years before results are OBJ
tanned. But marked progress has been
made In the years since the State pur-
chased this farm. The slow painstaking
work that the practical farmer has not
the time nor the training to carry out
brings important results. In breeding
work the aim is to produce varieties
adapted to soil and climate. The In
creased yield from such varieties 10 q
net gain. For IL takes no greater LABOR
to prepare the land, there is no addeo
cost for fertilizer, and no appreciable IN
creased cost required to harvest toe
.,.la Chas n Woods Director