l6l2 CEREALS AND PULSE CROPS 



lodge. Noe was chosen for the second parent because it does not lodge 

 easily and because it has a lower habit and a thicker and more lignified 

 straw than Gentil rosso. Noe possesses two bad characters which need 

 to be eliminated : i) its hability to rust, caused by late ripening, 2) the 

 exceedingly coarse quality of the straw. 



These experiments were begun before 1900 and have been carried 

 out at the Agricultural Institute of Scandicci (Florence) ; they have 

 shown that the cross Gentil rosso x Noe is more successful than the reci- 

 procal cross. After rigorous selection only two of the hybrids have been 

 chosen, known by the number 40 and 46. These hybrids differ essen- 

 tially from Gentil rosso in that they are of lower habit and that the plants 

 are glaucous like Noe. The ears are hardly any shorter than those of Gen- 

 til rosso ; the spikelets are more fan-like at the time of ripening ; the awns 

 of the glumes are stouter and shorter. The grains (caryopses) are light red 

 in colour and somewhat resemble those of Gentil rosso. No. 40 has a very 

 elongated ear which is more like that of Gentil rosso, while No. 46 has a 

 dumpy, thicker ear resembling that of Noe. In the shape of the grains 

 -No. 40 comes nearer to Gentil rosso than No. 46 does to Noe. 



These hybrid wheats have also been cultivated on the Experimental 

 Farm of the Perugia High School and by various Tuscan farmers of Val- 

 dichiana and Valdinievole. The}^ have shown marked productivity- and 

 higher degree of resistance to lodging than Gentil rosso, even when hea- 

 vily manured. 



1 1 77 - Two Good Varieties of Italian Wheat, Gentil rosso and Gentil bianco.— de Rosa 



A., in // Coltivatorc, Year 62, No. 26, pp. .!3^-::39. Casale Monfcrrato, September 20th 1916. 



The wheats Gentil rosso and Gentil bianco, have been extensively 

 cultivated in Tuscany from very early times. They spread from this 

 country to many parts of North and South Italy giving excellent results 

 everywhere. The two varieties possess the following qualities : good yield ; 

 great adaptability (particularly Gentil rosso); good resistance to rust and 

 lodging ; high food value. Gentil rosso is suitable for late sowing so that 

 it may also be used as a spring wheat. Both varieties are suitable for cool 

 or even cold districts, and prefer hght or heavy loams, in good heart. 

 Gentil rosso is less exacting than Gentil bianco as regards soil. The 

 former is chiefly used for bread making. 



The following characters distinguish the two varieties. 



Gentil rosso — Ear : Elongated, oblong in section ; glabrous ; colour 

 tawny, with brown tints shading to red at the edge of the glumes. 



Spikelets : Rather crowded, glumes fairly long, awned in an increas- 

 ing degree from the base to the tip of the ear. 



Grain : Elongated, size average, heavy, colour reddish with darker 

 shades, fracture distinctly starchy. 



Gentil bianco. — Ear : Elongated, square in section ; glabrous, wliite 

 with clear yellow shades. 



Spikelets : Not very crowded ; glumes swollen, slightly keeled in the 

 upper '^/g somewhat awned. 



