WHEAT 15 



CHAPTER II 

 HABITS AND TYPES 



BOTANICAL RELATIONS 



Wheat belongs to the family of true grasses 

 (Gramineae). The grass family is a large and 

 very important one because of the great number 

 of species that supply both grain and hay. They 

 include all the standard varieties of small grains, 

 corn, grain-sorghums and all grasses used for 

 hay and fodder. The cultivated grains and grasses 

 furnish the staple foods for man and beast the 

 world over, 



HABITS AND STRUCTURE OF PLANT 



The leaves of wheat are slender and ribbon-like 

 and attached to the stem at the nodes in the form 

 of a sheath covering the internodes. The stems 

 are round and usually hollow; height, three to 

 five feet. You have noticed the mass of leaves 

 clustered close to the ground when the plants are 

 young and observed how quickly they are carried 

 up off the ground when the wheat begins to stem 

 or "boot." Fall sown grains produce only leaves 

 until early spring, then the plant stems lengthen, 

 not only by growing at the tip but the internodes 

 grow in length also. When a field of grain is 

 blown down or lodged, it may "straighten up" 

 due to the fact that the cells on the under side 

 of the stem increase and grow faster than the 

 cells on the upper side. Also, renewed growth 

 occurs at the nodes to strengthen the stem. 



