Patent ID: 8225548

Claim:
A method of genetically selecting seeds of cereal grains for enhanced colony growth attributes and planting said seeds of cereal grains for enhanced commercial colony growth performance, wherein said method comprises the following steps in a cycle: planting a plurality of seeds of a cereal grain in a seed planting site within a series of seed planting sites, wherein said series of seed planting comprises a hill plot planting design, and repeating said step to plant a plurality of seeds in each of said seed planting sites within said series of seed planting sites until a desired number of seed planting sites have been seeded; growing said plurality of seeds into individual plants within a colony of plants; selecting said individual plants for one or more desired traits in said series of seed planting sites, wherein one of said desired traits in said series of seed planting sites further comprises enhanced colony growth attributes; selecting said plants exhibiting one or more of said desired traits in said series of seed planting sites within said hill plot planting designs to produce seeds that produce offspring having seeds exhibiting one or more of said desired traits; harvesting said seeds from said offspring; wherein said cycle of said method is performed at least one time to generate seeds having enhanced colony growth attributes, and wherein said seeds having said enhanced colony growth attributes are used in a commercial farming system wherein said seeds are planted in a hill plot planting system.