AN IMPROVED STRAIN 



OF WISCONSIN TOBACCO 



Connecticut Havana No. 38 



James Johnson 

 Wisconsin Experiment Station^ 



THE instances of improved types 

 of tobacco, which are accepted 

 as such commercially, together 

 with data covering a number of 

 years to show where such improvement 

 lies, are sufificiently rare to warrant 

 recording. In 1908 a project for the 

 production of an improved strain of 

 Wisconsin cigar binder tobacco was 

 undertaken, together with a study of 

 certain principles of inheritance involved 

 in crosses and in simple selection with 

 tobacco. Some of the results secured 

 on the latter problem are to be published 

 elsewhere. It is desired here to record 

 only certain aspects of the production 

 of a commercial strain of tobacco. 



During the summer of 19,08, about 2 

 acres of Connecticut Havana tobacco 

 were grown at the Experiment Station 

 Farm at Madison, largely for seed 

 purposes, with the idea of introducing 

 this variety widely throughout the 

 tobacco-growing regions' of the State. 

 vScveral hundred pounds of this seed 

 were distributed annually for a period 

 of three years and it met with consider- 

 able success. A great many growers, 

 however, reported that although the 

 quality was very satisfactory the yield 

 of this type should be increased. The 

 exact history of the strain of Connec- 

 ticut Havana which was grown is not 

 definitely known, although at the time 

 of its introduction here it was not far 

 removed from some of the best strains 

 grown under this name in the Con- 

 necticut Valley. Repeated comparisons 

 with the widely grown variety of Com- 

 stock Spanish of Wisconsin, the Con- 

 necticut Havana, and the Zimmcr 



' Published by iiermissinn of tlu' Director. 



Spanish of Ohio, showed that they were 

 all practically identical and could be all 

 classed in one group as "Havana Seed." 

 The Connecticut Havana grown for 

 seed in 1908 was presumably "pure- 

 bred" seed. A great deal of attention 

 was paid to roguing out seed plants and 

 selecting and bagging plants for further 

 study during this year. Seed from 

 about thirty-five plants was self-fer- 

 tilized and the majority of these sowed 

 separately and transplanted into prog- 

 eny rows in 1909. It became evident 

 from this test that three fairly distinct 

 types of tobacco were present in the 

 progeny plat, but that the progeny 

 from each parent plant was remarkably 

 uniform. The majority of the rows 

 were practically identical and typical 

 Connecticut Havana tobacco, but two 

 rows, viz.. Selection No. 26 and Selec- 

 tion No. 27, stood out distinctly from 

 the others. Type 26 differed from the 

 normal type in that the leaves were 

 smaller in number but considerably 

 larger in size, and also were more 

 pendant than those of 27. Further, 

 the stalk was shorter, thicker, and 

 tended to lodge more than the normal 

 type under unfavorable weather con- 

 ditions. Type 26 also budded slightly 

 earlier and matured earlier than the 

 normal. Type 27, on the other hand, 

 differed from the normal in that it 

 possessed a greater number of leaves, 

 which, on the whole, were somewhat 

 smaller in size than the normal. The 

 leaves were very erect in position. The 

 stalk was a little more slender, some- 

 what taller than normal, but verv 

 strong, and rarely lodged. This strain 



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