A Study ot Colorado Wheat 
45 
THE EFFECT OF IRRIGATION ON MEALINESS 
Le Clerc attributes mealiness or starchiness in some instances, at 
least, to irrigation. He says: ‘‘It is almost always the case that irriga¬ 
tion tends to produce a mealy grain, although in several instances it has 
been noted that even under irrigation the grain has kept its flinty char¬ 
acter. This is explainable only on the theory that the irrigation has not 
been excessive.”* 
Irrigation Had No Effect On Mealiness In Our Experiments 
I do not think that this thesis can be maintained, for I have sam¬ 
ples of dry-land w^heat, winter-wheat of course, in which mealy berries 
are predominant, constituting 85 percent of the sample. Further, I 
have samples grown with the same amount of irrigation, which differ 
greatly in the proportion of mealy kernels present, from less than 20 
to nearly 100 percent. The amount of water received during the 
whole life period of the plants was the same, in one year 21 and in an¬ 
other 19 inches, these are certainly not excessive quantities of water, 
especially if received as water of irrigation. Further, I have grown 
wheat with 19 and 31 inchs, four plots in each of two successive years. 
The total supply of 31 inches was at least 12 inches in excess of that 
required to produce a maximum crop. This excessive amount was 
applied on 12 July, shortly after the grain had set, and at a very great 
risk to the crop, for had we had a slight shower accompanied by wind, 
the grain would have gone down and been severely injured. The ef¬ 
fect of this irrigation on the development of yellow-berry, or mealiness 
of the kernels was nil. If there be any difference in the samples of the 
different varieties treated in this manner, it is in favor of the heavier 
irrigation. These samples have been analyzed, and there are no differ¬ 
ences that can be attributed to the difference in the amount of irrigating 
water applied. The four plots used in this case were checks, and had 
received no fertilizer, so they are thoroughly comparable with the other 
checks. 
Through the kindness of Mr. Don. H. Bark, now with the Cana¬ 
dian Pacific Railroad, but formerly with the U. S. Department of 
Agriculture, I received a set of six samples grown under controlled 
conditions in regard to water applied and fertilization. The variety is 
Marquis. I will not give the analyses in this place, but simply state 
that the water applied to six one-tenth-acre plots varied from the rate 
of I to 3 feet per acre. The time from planting till harvest was 122 
days; the time from the first till the last irrigation was 102 days, during 
which two of the six plots received 12 inches of water, two 24 inches, 
and two 36 inches each per acre. So far as the mealiness of these 
* Yearbook U. S. D. A., 1906, p. 205. 
