Rerraf — A Rust-resisting Wheat. 531 



RERRAF— A RUST-RESISTING WHEAT. 



Bi/ D. McAlpine. 



Till last seasou Rerraf was the only variety of wheat out of the 

 many hundreds tested by the Pathologist's Branch during- the last ten 

 or twelve years which possessed in a special degree the power of 

 resisting rust, combined with good yielding quality and apparent 

 suitability to local conditions. This wheat is a sport received in 1894 

 from Mr. Wm. Farrer, Wheat Experimentalist in New South Wales, 

 and is derived from Blount's Lamhrigg. The uniform excellence of 

 the yields of this variety at Port Fairy, since it was first received, 

 together with its continued and almost complete freedom from rust, 

 when other sorts alongside were badly diseased, marked this variety 

 as one worthy of being tested on a larger scale, and over a wider range 

 of country. To that end it was announced early last year that small 

 samples of the seed would be distributed to farmers free of charge, 

 provided cost of postage was defrayed by those applying. In this 

 way over 400 samples were sent out, and the generally favorable and 

 often enthusiastic reports received from the growers concerning its 

 yield and behaviour are especially gratifying. 



As was only to be expected in such a large number of tests carried 

 out in all districts, in all sorts of soils, with all kinds of manure, and 

 in some cases with very late sowing, several failures were reported. 

 In a few instances birds destroyed all the grain, since it was planted in 

 the garden instead of in a corner of a wheat paddock. An odd case 

 or two occurred in which the seed had been unfortunately sown upon 

 a piece of land infested with the take-all fungus, so that the heads 

 were small and thin, and the grain lean and shrivelled. 



It has never at any time been claimed that Rerraf is a perfect 

 wheat, absolutely rust-proof under all conditions. It has only been 

 stated that wherever tried it had proved immeasureably superior in 

 rust-resisting qualities to any variety in general or experimental 

 cultivation sown alongside. x\t the same time it was confidently 

 expected that the remarkable ])ower to resist the destructive rust- 

 fungus exliibited by this wheat in such moist localities as Port Fairy, 

 Myrniong, and Leongatha, would be a fairly constant characteristic in 

 most parts of the State. This anticipation has been more than 

 realised, for an examination of the 159 detailed reports, so far 

 received, shows that in 81 instances no rust was observed, in 32 other 

 cases the rust was very slight, in 29 slight, in 2 moderate, and bad in 

 only 4. 



