CEREAL EXPERIMENTS AT CHICO, CALIF. 5 
Table 1 shows the acreage and production of wheat, barley, and 
oats in the Sacramento Valley and in the entire State in the year 
1919, and the percentage of each crop produced in the valley. Al- 
though the production of wheat was abnormally large in that year, 
the relative production in the Sacramento Valley and in the State 
then and at the present time should be about the same. 
WEEDS. 
Most of the weeds of economic importance infesting grain fields in 
the Sacramento Valle}- have been introduced. Only two or three of 
them are native. Those responsible for causing the greatest injury 
to grain production include wild oats (Avena fatua and Avena har- 
bata) } star thistle (Centaurea solstitialis) , Napa thistle (Centaurea 
mditensis), wild mustard (Brassica nigra), buckthorn (Amsinckia 
intermedia), bur clover ( Medicago Mspida), and morning-glory 
( Convolvulus arvensis) . Those of lesser importance are cheat (Bromus 
hordeaceus) , broncho grass (Bromus villosus), canary grass (Phalaris 
spp.), wild radish (Raphanus sativum and R. raphanistrum) , filaree 
( Erodium spp.), California poppy (Eschscholtzia crocea), and a 
number of others. 
The wild oat flourishes on all types of soil and probably causes 
more reduction in grain yields than any other weed. It grows 
naturally on practically all uncultivated land in the Sacramento 
Valley. It is used extensively for hay and is not considered objec- 
tionable except on cultivated land. It is hard to eradicate because 
in most seasons the seeds when plowed under remain dormant in the 
soil during the average dry season and are thus carried over to grow 
another year. When a wet season occurs, an abundance of wild oat 
appears, and such a season is known by farmers as an "oat year.' 7 
The wild oat is not considered particularly objectionable as a weed 
in grainfields so far as producing mixed grain is concerned, as it 
nearly always matures and shatters out before the grain is harvested. 
It greatly reduces yields, however, if abundant, and grainfields 
badly infested with wild oat usually are cut for hay. 
The star thistle is found on the lower lands and where it gains a 
foothold is very destructive. It begins to develop rapidly about the 
time the grain ripens and frequently interferes seriously with har- 
vesting operations. Napa thistle grows on a greater variety of 
soils but is not so destructive as the former. Wild mustard, wild 
radish, buckthorn, broncho grass, and the California poppy usually 
are found on the loam soils, while bur clover, cheat, and canary 
grass are most abundant on the heavy wet soils. Morning-glory 
once established is difficult to control and most often is found on the 
richer soils. Of those listed only the California poppy, buckthorn, 
and a few of the canary grasses are native. 
CEREAL DISEASES. 
The principal cereal disease of economic importance in the Sacra- 
mento Valley is bunt, or stinking smut. Seed treatment is a neces- 
sary precautionary measure. Stem-rust infection usually is very 
light. In some seasons, however, it causes severe damage on the 
low lands along the Sacramento River. Light infections of yellow 
rust or stripe rust usually may be seen on susceptible varieties. 
