PLANT BREEDING IN SWEDEN 



121 



Characteristical for the black oat sorts is the fact that their straw developes 

 relatively late but in return they stool much more luxuriantly, qualities which 

 make them especially suitable for the stift clay soils of Middle Sweden and which 

 at the same time give them a greater power of resistance against the Frit Fly 

 (Oscinis Frit), which otherwise can do much damage, especially if the sowing 

 has been late. Dr. AKERMAN hopes to be able by crossing to make the most 

 of this quality in the black oat sorts when continuing the improvement of white oats. 



Of barley sorts the Prinsesskorn (Princess Barley, 1897), taken from Pren* 

 tice Barley, a sort, which originally came from England, and the Gullkorn (Golden 

 Barley, 1913), out of an old native land barley from the Island of Gotland are 

 still most generally grown in South and Middle Sweden. Besides these, both 

 Chevalier II (1900), taken from Horsfords Crossbred Chevalier from America, as 

 well as Svanhalskorn (Swan*neck Barley, 1899) and Primuskorn (Primus Barley, 

 1901) are still considered as the most suitable under growing conditions more 

 particularly suited to them. 



The sorts of peas and vetches, which during the years 19001907 were put 

 forth from Svalof have only just lately begun to get competitors. These were 

 in number 4 respectively 2 and all improved by line selection from foreign mixed 

 sorts. The Svalof sorts of peas have by their considerably higher average yield 

 (the increase is 20 to 30 to 40 %) made the cultivation of peas much more pro* 

 fitable than hitherto. 



The renewal of sorts of winter wheat has been the greatest, for the cultiva* 

 tion of all those pedigree sorts which were put forth first has been given up, these 

 being surpassed by new sorts with a still higher yield. These sorts at that 

 time however marked a great progress. The English Squarehead wheat produces 

 under favourable conditions and with sufficiently mild winters 50 % higher yield 

 than the Swedish land wheat. But, by reason of its lack of winter*hardiness 

 the average yield of the former sort was even in the most southern parts of the 

 country scarcely superior to that of the latter sort. Thanks to a greater winter* 

 hardiness Svalofs Extra Squarehead Wheat (1900), taken by line selection from 

 imported Squarehead, gave an increase of the average yield with about 12 %. 

 And the increase for Grenadier Wheat, a pedigree sort, taken from a Squarehead 

 sort, imported from Scotland about 1880, was not less than 20 %, despite a winter* 

 hardiness somewhat lower than that of Extra Squarehead. But Grenadier Wheat 

 has hardly been surpassed by any hitherto tested sort, when speaking of its 

 specific yielding power, by which is simply meant the yielding power of a sort 

 when this power is not lessened by too severe winters or by other temporary 

 causes. A chief quality of Grenadier is also its unusually stiff straw. For those 

 districts in Middle Sweden, which are more favourably lotted for wheat growing, 

 the Borevete (Bore Wheat, 1902) and the Pudelvete (Poodle Wheat, 1910), both 

 pedigrees taken from a sort imported from Holstein by NEERGAARD had an in* 

 crease of about 10 % of the average yield, when compared to native land wheat. 



These sorts have now almost entirely disappeared. When improving winter wheat 

 by crossing, these sorts, however, have been of great use as will soon be observed. 



Crosses of both barley and peas were made to a great extent already about 

 1890 and also of winter wheat later on during the same decennium. All these 



16 



