11 March, 1918.] 



Wheat Variety Tests. 



175 



Early and Late Sown 

 Trials — Object of the Test. 



Under practical farming 

 conditions, tne time to be- 

 gin sowing cannot always 

 be determined beforehand, 

 as can be done in the case 

 of the variety plots. There 

 is generally too big an area 

 to sow, consequently if the 

 rains be delayed, or owing 

 to other causes, the seeding 

 season mav be unduly pro- 

 tracted. When varieties- 

 which have an extended 

 ]>oriod of growth, and, 

 therefore, possess greater 

 foraging power and poten- 

 tial yielding capacity, are 

 sown late, they are often 

 liable to be prematurely 

 ripened by hot winds or the 

 early approach of summer; 

 yields consequently suffer. 

 In these circumstances, it is 

 generally found that the 

 quicker-maturing varieties 

 give better results, as they 

 are likely to be relatively 

 more advanced than the 

 late varieties. The object 

 of these tests is, therefore, 

 to determine the differen- 

 tial effect of various times 

 of sowing on early, mid- 

 season, and late varieties. 



At Longerenong the early 

 sown plots were drilled in 

 on 25th June, and the late 

 sowing was made on 28th 

 July — about a month later. 

 At'Wyuna the early sown 

 plots were drilled in the last 

 week in May, and the late 

 ones during the first week 

 in July. 



Results show that at both 

 centres any marked differ- 

 ences are in favour of a 

 late sowing of early varie- 

 ties like King's Early, 

 while in the case of late 

 varieties, such as Yandilla 



