126 PLANT BREEDING IN SWEDEN 



put forth on the market two winter wheat sorts, two rye sorts, one oat sort, two 

 pea sorts, and also strains of the most important forage grasses. It has also its 

 own sorts of vegetables as well. 



One of the wheat sorts. Standard Wheat, which will be put forth this autumn 

 and which is intended for the southermost provinces is produced by artificial 

 crossing between Iduna Wheat, from Weibullsholm about ten years older, and 

 a Danish sort. Storm Rye, characterized by its relatively short and stiff straw 

 which makes it easier to cut with self^binding harvest;=machines is produced from a 

 German sort, Petkuser Rye, by repeated selections four years in succession, the 

 first two years by line selection, the last two years by mass selection, by removing 

 before the plants bloomed, ail such as had straw higher than the average height. 

 In specific yielding power, however, the Storm Rye is somewhat inferior to the 

 mother sort. A new sort. Storm Rye II, with short straw as the first Storm Rye, 

 but according to Heribert^Nilsson with a specific yielding power equal to Petkuser 

 Rye has been produced by sowing like portions of Storm Rye and another pedigree 

 with short straw together and letting them fertilize naturally. 



The farms belonging to the firm occupy together an area of about 1,800 

 hektares, but it also has cultures by contracts with private farmers. 



In view of the extension of the work and the knowledge of the object with 

 which the work is carried on it will undoubtedly be of great importance for the 

 Swedish agriculture. By its field root cultures, field root seed cultures and field 

 root improvement the firm has been of a very great importance for the develop* 

 ment of the Swedish field root growing. 



In the year of 1906 the Swedish Sugar Manuf. Company began with seed culture 

 and improvement of sugar mangels with the purpose of making all import of 

 sugar mangel seed unnecessary. This work, which is lead by Dr. Hans Rasmusson 

 has given the desired results. Thus the crop of sugar mangel seeds produced last 

 year is adequate to the need of such seeds in Sweden. The sugar mangels grown 

 from these native seeds can readily be compared with the best imported sorts and 

 are in several cases even superior to these, this owing to the improvement work 

 consequently carried on. 



Finally, since some years a rather extensive breeding of vegetables is carried 

 on partly at the horticultural division of the Agricultural College at Alnarp, situ* 

 ated about V2 a Swedish mile from Malmo, the work being lead by Mr. J. Rasmusson, 

 and partly at one of the farms near Malmo, belonging to the General Swedish Seed 

 Company at Svalof, the work being lead by Professor H. Nilsson=Ehle and Dr. 

 K. Kristoffersson. The improvement work has not as yet been carried on long 

 enough to be able to influence the cultivation of vegetables in Sweden, but new 

 improved sorts of different plants are now ready. And there is no doubt that 

 the work will contribute to the improvement of this cultivation by providing 

 better and more profitable material for it. 



