SPRING WHEAT ON THE NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS. 3 
KEY TO GROUPS OF SPRING WHEAT. 
Below is given a key to the groups of spring wheat discussed in this 
bulletin. 
DESCRIPTIVE KEY TO GROUPS OF COMMON AND DURUM WHEAT. 
Spikes usually slender, awnless or awns less than 3 inches long; spikelets 
widely separated, scarcely overlapping, flattened parallel to the face 
of the spikelets; kernels small to midsized, soft to hard Common wheat. 
Spike awnless. 
Glumes glabrous, white. 
Kernels red Fife group. 
Glumes pubescent, white. 
Kernels red Bluestem group. 
Spike awned. 
Glumes glabrous, white. 
Kernels red Preston group. 
Glumes glabrous, brown. 
Kernels red Ladoga group. 
Spikes usually stout, all awned, awns 4 to 8 inches long; spikelets crowded, 
much overlapping, flattened at right angles to the face of the spikelets; 
kernels midsized to large, hard Durum wheat. 
Spike awned. 
Glumes glabrous, white or yellowish. 
Awns white or yellowish. 
Kernels white (amber), large Kubanka group. 
Kernels red, midsized Red Durum group. 
Awns black. 
Kernels white (amber), very large Peliss group. 
COMMON WHEAT. 
Common wheat has been grown longer than durum wheat on the 
northern Great Plains and makes up the larger percentage of the 
\ spring-wheat acreage. Most of the varieties of common wheat grown 
there have red kernels, which are usually hard and of high milling 
quality. Varieties of the Fife group are the most extensively grown. 
THE FIFE GROUP. 
The wheats included in the Fife group are similar in appearance, 
and most of them are closely related. The heads are awnless and 
rather slender to medium stout. In general, they vary in length from 
3 to 3J or 4 inches. The glumes are wiiite and glabrous, and the ker- 
nels are small to medium in size, red in color, and hard. The princi- 
pal varieties are described in the following paragraphs, the most 
important being listed first. 
Marquis. — The Marquis is the leading variety included in the Fife group. It has 
been grown in the United States only since about 1913, but during the past seven 
years it has been introduced into most of the spring-wheat producing sections. In 
the northern Great Plains area it is grown on a greater acreage than all other spring 
wheats combined. The value of any other variety is now dependent upon how it 
compares with Marquis wheat. For this reason the Marquis variety is used in this 
bulletin as a standard of comparison. 
