The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1922-07-28
Seed Wheat
Situation

Many farmers are wondering where
they can get some good seed wheat
this year. The quality of tho wheat
ID Bo far below normal thati I will be
advisable for a great number Of farm
ers to secure seed from other sources
than their own farm. II is unfortnn-
ate that no wheat in the county was of
sufficient quality to receive the stamp
Of approval Of the Corn Growers As
sociation. However, the bright side of
the situation is that other Missouri
counties will have quantity Of certi-
fed seed for sale. Since these fields of
wheat that passed inspection had less
than per cent smut and less than /
per cent Of mixture, there is quite an
inducement for the farmers to pay q
premium on this seed.
There are several reasons why mix
ture is undesirable. Some one variety
Is best fore onditions in this locality
and the presence of other varieties in
the seed win reduce the yield. Prob
ably the most important disadvantage
Of mixture Of varieties is that ripen-
ing OF the different varieties included
is not likely to be uniform. IL the
wheat is cut when the earliest Of the
varieties mature, some of the grain
will be immature when harvested, and
If harvest is delayed until the later va
rieties have ripened, the earlier varie-
ties will be over-ripe and some loss by
shattering will probably occur. The
principalc ause Of this mixing of va
rieties is the travelling threshing ma
chine which carries sed from one farm
to the next.
The variety names applied to seed
wheat on the market are often mis-
leading. Wheat sold for Fulcaster,
for instance, is in many cases very
different both in appearance and per-
formance from wheat most commonly
grown under that name. For this Sec
tion of the State the varieties of
Michigan Wonder and Fulcaster have
been found to be the best adapted.
There is common belief that wheat
grown for several years in the same
locality will "run out" or deteriorate
IN yield and quality, and that frequent
change of seed is therefore desirable.
Many experiments to determine the
effects to continued culture of wheat
without change of seed have been con-
Quoted in various parts of the country
and under different conditions. From
the results of these experiments there
can be no doubt that wheat does not
necessarily "run out" On the con-
trary, under proper conditions, it
gradually adapts itself and becomes
more productive. Wheat, from q dis
tant locality, particularly if the grow
ing conditions there are very different.
requires several seasons To reach itsl
highest productivity.
Under average farm conditions, the
yield of wheat frequently does de-
crease steadily through series of
years, but this may be due to causes
not at all associated with running
out" of seed, as the term is usually
understood. Frequently the decrease
in yield is caused by the steady deple-
tion of the soil under continuous grain
cropping. What is needed is not a
change of seed but change of farm
ing methods. Often the seed actually
does deteriorate, not because of degen-
Grafton in the original stock, but be-
cause diseases, weed seed, and mixture
OF other varieties are allowed to come
in.
A list of growers whose wheat was
certified will be published about Aug
ust 1st. Interested persons may Sc
sure this list upon application,