22 



BULLETIN" 270, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



In the beardless common wheats there were 18 smooth-glumed and 

 12 hairy-glumed races. As in the durums, the smooth-glumed races 

 (mostly fifes) produced more grain, longer heads, and fewer tillers per 

 plant than the pubescent-glumed ones (mostly bluestems). The 

 smooth-glumed races also had shorter and lighter straw, more heads 

 per plant, and greater kernel weight than the hairy-glumed races. 



In the field plats the fife (glabrous glumes) and the bluestem (pubes- 

 cent glumes) groups gave similar results in a 6-year average. The 

 fifes had shorter straw and heavier yields of grain, with heavier 

 bushel weight, than wheats of the bluestem group. 



WINTER WHEAT. 



Winter wheat has been tried at Williston for six years, but the re- 

 sults so far obtained are not favorable. Winter wheat can not be 

 grown here successfully, at least not until some hardier varieties are 

 secured. In 1909, 1910, and 1912 the winter-wheat varieties were on 

 ground that either was newly broken or had been fallowed. The 

 other years they were in corn stubble, the cornstalks having been left 

 standing during the winter. 



In the first case the varieties had no protection during the winter 

 except the covering of snow that the plants themselves held, and win- 

 terkilling was severe in all three years, with a total loss in 1912. For 

 the three years that the wheat was sown in the standing cornstalks, 

 the spring survival was much higher. Table XI shows the annual 

 and average yields of seven varieties of winter wheat grown during 

 the six years from 1909 to 1914, inclusive. 



Table XI- 



Annual and average yields of seven varieties of winter wheat grown at the 

 Williston substation, 1909 to 1914, inclusive. 





Variety. 





Yield per acre (bushels). 





C.I. No. 



1909 



1910 



1911 



19121 



1913 



1914 



Aver- 

 age. 



1543 





40.0 

 26.6 

 29.9 

 21.6 

 19.9 



9.9 

 7.3 

 7.3 

 9.1 



7.2 

 8.7 



26.5 

 28.7 

 24.9 

 24.9 

 26.1 

 18.2 





 

 

 

 

 

 



7.8 

 13.1 

 6.8 

 8.4 



10.0 

 15.8 



15.7 



3084 



North Dakota No. 1997 



15.3 



1583 



3011 



Kharkof 



13.8 

 12.8 



3696... 



Grafton 



13.3 



3699... 



7.1 

 15.6 



17.1 



8.5 



3330 



BuffumNo. 17.. 





16.4 

















27.6 



8.3 



24.9 







9.8 



14.3 



13.7 









The 1912 crop was entirely winterkilled. 



The Beloglina (C. I. No. 1543) and an unnamed variety known as 

 North Dakota No. 1997 (C. I. No. 3084) have been found to be the 

 hardiest and best yielding varieties at Williston for the entire period. 

 Both these varieties are of the Crimean or Turkey group of hard red 



