5 
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
,,tf£8ffifew 
In cooperation with the California, Oregon, 
and Washington Agricultural Experiment Stations 
DEPARTMENT BULLETIN ,fio, 1299 
**-S-r 
Washington, D. C. 
?■***,■ .■ 
January 12, 1925 
$! 
ib 
RELATIVE RESISTANCE OF WHEAT TO BUNT IN THEPACfflC&JAST STATES 
By W. H. Tisdale, Pathologist in Charge of Cereal-Smut Investigations, and 
John H. Martin, Agronomist in Western Wheat Investigations, Office of Cereal 
Investigations, Bureau of Plant Industry (Washington, D. C.) ; Fred N. 
Briggs, Assistant Pathologist, Office of Cereal Investigations, and W. W. Mackie, 
Cerealist, California, Agricultural Experiment Station, Berkeley, Calif., and 
Collaborator, Office of Cereal Investigations (California); H. M. Woolman, 
Field Assistant in Plant Pathology, Office of Cereal Investigations, and D. E. 
Stephens, Agronomist and Superintendent, Sherman County Branch Station, 
Moro, Oreg., Office of Cereal Investigations (Oregon); and E. F. Gaines, Cereal- 
ist, Washington Agricultural Experiment Station, and Agent, Office of Cereal 
Investigations, and F. J. Stevenson, Agent, Office of Cereal Investigations (Wash- 
ington) . 
CONTENTS 
Page 
Introduction 1 
Previous investigations 2 
Present investigations 3 
Location and scope 3 
Methods 4 
Results with American wheats 5 
Common wheats 5 
Club wheats 16 
Durum wheats 18 
Minor wheat groups 18 
Results with Australian wheats 20 
Page 
Results with Indian wheats 22 
Results with South African wheats 23 
Results with miscellaneous wheats 23 
Resistant wheat varieties 24 
Hardred winter wheats 25 
Hard red winter selections 26 
Soft red winter wheats 26 
White wheats 26 
Summary 27 
Literature cited — 29 
INTRODUCTION 
With the development of farming in the Pacific Coast States wheat 
became the dominant crop. At first most of the wheat was spring 
sown, and careful seed treatment kept the bunt, or stinking smut 
(Tilletia iritici (Bjerk.) Wint.), under control. When the growing of 
winter wheat became general, however, it was found that bunt was 
the most destructive disease of wheat in this region. This was largely 
owing to the fact that the spores of T. tritici live until winter in the 
soil in this region and bunt tends to increase from year to year. 
The heavy annual losses of wheat caused by bunt combined with 
the ineffectiveness and expense of seed treatment and the possibility 
of seed injury point to the evident need of a more certain means of 
bunt control. The most promising possibility appears to be through 
the development of resistant varieties. Two methods of procedure 
1912°— 25f 1 
