Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1918-02-22

prepared by the United States Depart
ment Of Ag%riculture.)
Several years experience with wilt
resistant varieties has demonstrated
the fact that resistance to wilt can be
maintained only by careful attention
to breeding. Special care Is Needed
80 prevent the deterioration of resist
ant varieties through crossing with
nonresistant cotton in nearby fields,
through the lack of selection, ana
through the mixing of seed at the pub
Eic bins. A careful man can MAINTAIN
ahe resistance of his cotton indefinite
ty, but when neglected 1t loses TINS
quality in three or four years II
must be replaced by fresh seed. Con-
Sequently, there is likely to be a per
nanent annual demand for several
Thousand bushels of carefully bred
wllt-resistant seed in nearly every In
eected country. 1t is important that
this should be grown in the home couT-
~, as locally grown seed gives better
results than seed brought from a dis
Eance Because of these facts an eX-
cellent opportunity exists for progress
Sive men in every wilt-infected county
to engage with profit in the growing of
seed of wilt-resistant varieties of cot
Tor. The method found most success
full requires care, accuracy, and in
'Struction at the start.
Principles of Breeding.
The careful farmer has heretofore
attempted to maintain the quality of
his cotton by planting his seed patch
at q distance from other cotton to
avoid crossing, by pulling out unde-
Sirable plants, by mass selection of the
pest plants in the field, and by care
TO avoid the mixing Of the seed with
that of other cotton at the gin. These
are all important, but one additional
step IS necessary for the best results
j in breeding for wilt resistance, viz, the
adoption of the plant-to-row method
of selecting and testing plants. The
Increased value of the plant-to-rOw
methOd of breeding, which is neces-
Sary to maintain wilt resistance, is
BASED or the principle that individual
plants differ not only in their visible
characters bat, what Is more import
ant, in their inherent power to trans
init these characters to their progeny.
Two plants growing side by side may
be identical so far as the eye can see,
both in external characters and appear,
ent resistance to wilt. The resistance
of one plant may be due to an inner
ent quality, which will be passed on
through the seed to the offspring, while
y che apparent resistance Of the other
may be caused by lack Of wilt infec'
tlon. BY planting the seed Of these
two plants in progeny rows on within.
fected land 1t Is possible to pick out
and save the resistant row and discard
I the other.
Breeding Methods.
For the assistance and guidance
of farmers who desire to take up tbs
growing of wilt-reSistant cotton seed
either for their own use or for sale
the methods worked out by the burear
of plant industry as the result Of l,
years experience will be described.
Briefly, the plant-to-row method o.
breeding is as follows: Select tn,
most resistant plants to be found, picl
and gin them separately, plant q row
from each on ~wilt-infected land, dis
card the nonresistant and inferior
rows, and continue to select and breet
from the best rows and plants only
The breeder must formulate q typ
If plant toward which to select ant
ep this always in mind.
\ y, Selection of Wllt-Infected Land.
All breeding work for resistance Il
WY, must be done on wilt-infectet
eonn, so that nonresistant plants vii
ne Eliminated as rapidly as they ap
near nd only resistant ones propagat
ed. Land uniformly infected with vii
should be selected, rs free as possible
from root-knot, separated from othe
cotton to avoid cross-pollinatiOn, ant
near enough to the house to be con
yenient for selection work at cd
times. The plat may be located in
rornfeld or in a field of the same va
,-iety of cotton. 1t should be rectangu
par In shape, with all the rows I'll
same length, and prepared and ferti
1ized as for other cotton. The row
should be laid off 4 to Az feet apar
and the hills 2 to 2h feet, to allo,
room for the normal development o
plants.
planting Selections In Progeny Row,
Plant 100 hills of each selection
four or five seeds to the hill, and say
the remainder for replanting, Check
row to get the hills evenly spaced, o
stretch beside the row n cord with tn
distances indicated. Make a shallo'
trench with a small bull-tongue plol