INSTITUTE, PUSA, FOR 1916-17 31 



The demand for botanically pure selected seed of Pusa 

 12 for the purpose of re-stocking existing seed farms and 

 for opening new centres was again very great but it was 

 possible to deal with only a portion of the indents received. 



In the previous report, the replacement of the country 

 wheats by Pusa 12 in the United Provinces was described in 

 detail and some reference was made to the various means 

 employed. This work was again vigorously prosecuted 

 during the year particularly in the Central Circle and in 

 Oudh where large compact blocks of Pusa 12 are now to be 

 seen at harvest time. On the seed farms of the Amethi Raj, 

 an area of fifty- four acres yielded at the rate of 24 maunds 

 to the acre. Now that the wheat profits have been devoted 

 to the extension of seed farms, future progress in the United 

 Provinces is likely to be still more rapid. 



On the Chenab Colony of the Punjab, the advantage of 

 growing Pusa 12 is beginning to be realized. At Gunga- 

 pur, one of the large private estates in the Colony managed 

 by Rai Sewak Ram Sahib, Pusa 12 is now the main crop and 

 at harvest time this year this estate alone produced over 

 15,000 maunds of this variety. Comparative trials of Pusa 

 12 and Punjab 11 on this estate last year gave the following 

 results : — 



m. s. 

 Pusa 12 . . . . . 19 32 per acre 



Punjab 11 . . . . 16 18 „ 



)> 



The plots in each case were 3-88 acres in area. There is 

 one drawback, however, to the spread of this variety on the 

 canal colonies, namely, the fact that at present the wheat 

 crop is greatly overwatered. Pusa 12 is a deep-rooted wheat 

 which does not like too much water. At Gungapur this 

 year, this wheat gave over 12 maunds to Ihe acre on the 

 preliminary irrigation only. When the cultivators in this 

 region practise water-saving methods, it is more than 

 probable that the potential superiority of this wheat will 

 become more evident. 



