140 Jounud of AgricuUitre, Victoria. [10 March, 1916. 



RESEARCHES ON WHEAT SELECTION. 



1. Does the Value of a Wheat Grain Depend on its Position in 



the Ear? 



A. E. V. Richai-dson^ 31. A., B.Sc, Agricultural Superintendent, 



and W . Heher Green, D.Sc, Lecturer in Agricidtural Chemistry, 



University of Melhotirne. 



In 1912 a series of experimental plots were laid out at the Ruther- 

 glen Experiment Farm with the object of determining the extent to 

 which improvement of wheat was possible by various methods of 

 selection. This was a continuation of work which had been carried 

 out at the Parafield Wheat Station by one of the authors.* A question 

 which arose at the outset was " Are all the grains of the wheat ear as 

 like to one another as the proverbial two peas in a pod? " or have they 

 an individuality which finds its expression in their varying vitality 

 under which we may include germinating capacity and prolificacy ? In 

 other words, does the value of a wheat grain depend on its position in 

 the ear 1 



At the suggestion of Mr. T. M. Whelan, Field Officer in charge of 

 the plots, an experiment was carried out in 1913, in which an ear of 

 wheat was dissected and each individual grain was planted in such a 

 position that its identity could be established. 



Unfortunately, an accident prevented the resultant crop from being 

 harvested and the weight of individual plants determined at Ruther- 

 glen, and in 1914-15 similar tests were made at the State Farms at 

 Rutherglen and Werribee, with more complete material, and it is pro- 

 posed in this preliminary paper to briefly record som© of the results of 

 this part of the investigation. 



Up till 1913 the seeds were planted in nursery rows, but the varia- 

 tions in yield of individual plants from one end of the row to the 

 other were considerable, and suggested that these differences were due, 

 not to inherent genetic factors, but mainly to environmental influences. 

 In the endeavour to eliminate these environmental variations a modifica- 

 tion of the system of centgener plots suggested by Haysf has been used 

 for the last two years 



The essential feature of this system is that 100 grains are planted 

 in ten rows of ten plants each, and this square is protected by one or 

 more border rows of grain of similar parentage. 



At harvest time the border rows are first removed and the prolificacy 

 of the seed under investigation is determined by the aggregate yield 

 of the 100 plants. The mechanical device for planting these seeds wifl- 

 accuracv, at a uniform distance apart and at a uniform depth, has been 

 previously described in the Jovrnal.\ 



In preparing the soil for the centgener plots great care was taken 

 to secure as uniform a seed bed as possible. 



To avoid the differential soil packing caused by the tread of the 

 horses, the harrows and roller wer? hauled across the field with the 

 aid of long ropes and pulleys care being taken to avoid any overlap 



* Journal of Agriculture, South .\ustralia. 1910. 



t W. M. Hays. Plant. Breeding Bulletin 29, Dept. of Agriculture, U.S.A. 



j Journal of Agriculture, Victoria, November, 1914, p. 649. 



