18 



BULLETIlSr 450, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTUEE. 



Table VI. — Yields of grain and of flour and volumes of loaf obtained from three pure-liTie 

 selections of Ghirka and five standard varieties of hard spring wheat grown at the Dick- 

 inson {N. Dak.) substation in 1913 and 1914. 



[The varieties are arranged in the order of their average yields.] 



Variety. 



Yield per acre (bushels): 



GhirkaNo.5 4414 a40.5 613.2 26.9 



Ghirka No. 66 4425 ci35.2 6 12.4 23.8 



GhirkaNo.4 4413 o35.7 611.2 23.5 



Kubanlja 1440 cZl.2 ^14.2 22.7 



Red Fife 3329 c28.3 dio.2 19.3 



Preston 3081 c25.6 'il2.9 19.3 



Marquis 3641 c24.0 du.o 19.0 



Haynes 2874 c24.8 <28.3 16.6 



Yield of straight flour (percent): 



Ghirka No. 66 4425 72. 4 67. 9 70. 2 



Kubanka 1440 71.8 66.9 69.4 



Preston 3081 70.7 68.1 69.4 



GhirkaNo.5 4414 69.6 69.0 69.3 



GhirkaNo.4 4413 71.2 67.2 69.2 



Haynes 2874 71.2 66.6 68.9 



Marquis 3641 69.2 63.8 66.5 



Red Fife 3329 71.8 60.0 65.9 



Volume of loaf (cubic centimeters): 



Haynes 2874 2,260 2,900 2,580 



GhirkaNo.4 4413 2,450 2,685 2,568 



RedFife 3329 2,220 2,775 2,498 



GhirkaNo.5 4414 2,300 2,660 2,480 



Preston 3081 2,170 2,785 2)478 



Marquis 3641 2,250 2,475 2,363 



GhirkaNo.66 4425 '2,097 2,520 2,309 



Kubanka 1440 1,985 2,435 2,210 



Aver- 



a Plats one-eightieth of an acre. 

 6 Plats one forty-eighth of an acre. 



c Plats one-tenth of an acre. 



d Plats one forty-eighth of an acre, replicated four times. 



It is possible that a mixture of two or three of the best selections 

 may result in a further improvement in yield or quality. A pre- 

 liminary test to determine this, combining selections Nos. 4 and 66, 

 is already under way. Crosses have been made between these best 

 pure lines and other varieties of hard spring common wheat, and 

 promising selections of the progeny of the second and fourth genera- 

 tions are now in existence. From these a still further improvement 

 in quality and in rust resistance is expected, while retaining the 

 high-yielding and drought-resistant qualities of the Ghirka wheat. 



CONCLUSIONS. 



Ghirka Spring wheat, a variety of commercial importance in 

 Russia, has proved adapted to the northern part of the Great Plains 

 area of the United States. The variety is susceptible to rust in 

 moist seasons and in humid areas, but it has proved to be a valuable 

 drought-resistant wheat. 



Tests at seven experiment stations in the northern Plains area, 

 covering a period of seven years, have shown that on an average 

 the Ghirka Spring has yielded more than the Rysting Fife and 

 Haynes Bluestem common wheats, but less than the Kubanka 

 durum wheat. The quality of the Ghirka, however, is inferior to 

 that of these standard wheats. 



