The Kevin review., 1926-08-19
(From the Montana State College.) }


~ ESULTS being obtained by the
Montana Experiment Station in
~ its plant breeding and variety
testing work indicate that several OF
the new popular varieties and strains
of grains will have to give way to
new and improved kinds. In the win
ter wheat class, Montana 36 threat
ems to supersede both Turkey Red
and Grail or Jones Fife. Marquis
has been the leading wheat among
spring wheat growers for many years
but is losing out to new variety
known as Supreme. Victory has but
recently gained the leadership among
the varieties of oats grown in the
state and now is likely in turn to be
excelled by new variety called
''Markton." In the barley class
"Trebi' still stands as the best for
irrigated conditions.
There are AT different problems of
crop production confronting farm
ers in the higher irrigated valleys
of the state which are being studied
at the Montana Experiment Station
this year. These studies include ro-
tation of crops under irrigation, CO.
operative variety tests, winter wheat
variety tests, dormancy studies with
winter wheat, tests of hardness,
plant breeding, the difference be-
tween old and new winter wheat for
seed, comparison of spring wheat
varieties, a study of seed from dry
land and irrigated land, barley var
iety tests, comparisons of different
strains of Marquis, oat variety tests,
alfalfa variety tests, comparison OF
yields and quality of alfalfa cut at diff
ferent times, corn variety tests, nay
mixtures, breeding of sunflowers,
nursery tests of new and unusual
crops, study of hard seeds in le-
gumes, increase of foundation seed
stock, wheat breeding nursery, effect !
of sunflowers on soil fertility, mix
lures of flax and wheat, changes in
wheat due to freezing, pea variety
tests, flax variety tests and compari-
son of the different treatments for
the prevention of smut.
Among the outstanding results
that are being obtained are the de-
velopment and discovery of new var
ieties of winter wheat, spring wheat,
oats and barley which show marked |
increases in yields over the varieties
now in common use in the state.
The best winter wheat for irrigated
conditions appears to be Montana 36
which was developed by the Montana
Experiment Station. This wheat is
an offspring of Kharkoff and during
the past five years has averaged
nearly five bushels more per acre
than the parent variety. Grail or
Jones Fife which is still grown
to some extent in some of the noun
tain valleys of the state is far less
productive than the new variety, av-
eraging 1877 bushels per acre less
than Montana SO.
Another interesting line of work
with winter wheat which will meet
the present high standards of
strength of straw, quality, hardness,
etc.
Among the hard red spring wheats,
Supreme is showing up best. This
variety has been under test for four
years and during that time has out
yielded Marquis almost 18 per cent.
The quality of this wheat is fully
equal to that of the far-famed Mar
quis. Quantities of pure Supreme
seed are now being raised at the sta
tion and by cooperating farmers so
as to increase the production of this
variety throughout the state.
Apparently the old suspicion that
irrigated wheat seed was not as good
as that produced on dry land is notl
founded on fact. A report of this ]