Apr. 5,1924 
Effect of Modified Hot - Water Treatment on Wheat 
81 
appear. However, some of the seedlings which were abnormal at the end of 
the 5-day period usually allotted for the germination test assumed a normal 
appearance later on. In several instances 11 days were required for the germina¬ 
tion of treated seeds to reach the stage commonly attained by untreated seeds 
on the fifth day. It was difficult or impossible to know whether or not seeds 
producing these types of seedlings in the blotters would produce plants if sown 
in the soil. An experiment was conducted, therefore, in order to study the effects 
of different periods of incubation on the percentage of germination in blotters 
and to compare the results from each period of incubation with those obtained 
from tests in soil in the field and in flats in the greenhouse. Five varieties were 
used, namely, Brown Winter Fife (C. I. 1933), 5 Currell (C. I. 3326), New Amber 
Longberry (C. 1.1973), Purplestraw (C. 1.1915) and Goens. 6 The Goens seed lot 
was grown in Indiana in 1921. The other varieties were grown on Arlington Ex¬ 
periment Farm, Rosslyn, Va., in 1921. A part of the seed of each of the varieties 
was treated on October 10, 1921, and dried 7 days at room temperature. There¬ 
after, 200 untreated and 200 treated seeds of each variety were taken for each 
of the soil tests and for the blotter test. All sowings were made on October 
17, 1921. After 30 days germination counts were made in greenhouse and field 
and average percentages of germination for the 5 varieties were determined as 
follows: 
Germination in soil in the greenhouse: Untreated seed 88.8 per cent; treated 
seed 66.9 per cent. 
Germination in soil in the field: Untreated seed 89.2 per cent; treated seed 
66.5 per cent. 
A close agreement between field and greenhouse results is indicated. The 
results of the blotter test are presented in Table II. The numbers recorded at 
each germination period included only those seeds which appeared to germinate 
normally. 
Table II.— Average percentages of germination of 200 untreated and W0 treated 
seeds of each of five wheat varieties sown in moist blotters 
Treatment of seed 
Varieties 
Untreated. 
Do.... 
Do... 
Do.... 
Do.... 
Brown Winter Fife.... 
Currell. 
Goens.. 
New Amber Longberry. 
Purplestraw. 
Average. 
Treated by the modified hot- 
water method. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Brown Winter Fife.... 
Currell. 
Goens. 
New Amber Longberry 
Purplestraw. 
Average. 
Average percentage of germination after 
incubation for the following number of 
days: 
3 
5 
7 
9 
11 
• 39.0 
95.5 
96.5 
97.0 
97.0 
53.0 
96.5 
98 0 
98.0 
98.0 
38.0 
95.5 
96 0 
96.0 
96.0 
25.0 
94.0 
95.5 
95.5 
95.5 
30.0 
93.0 
96.5 
96.5 
96.5 
37.0 
94.9 
96.5 
96.6 
96.6 
0.5 
63.0 
89.0 
90.5 
91.5 
3.0 
60.5 
91.5 
92.0 
93.0 
2.5 
64.5 
85.5 
86.0 
86.0 
0 
49.5 
82.5 
84.5 
84.5 
1.5 
61.0 
87.5 
88.0 
88.5 
1.5 
59.7 
87.2 
88.2 
88.7 
Table II shows that none of the periods of incubation yielded germination 
percentages which compared favorably with those obtained from seed sown in the 
soil. Treated seed, incubated seven days in the laboratory, germinated over 20 per 
8 Accession numbers of the Office of Cereal Investigations. 
8 Goens wheat is extensively grown under its synonym, Red Chaff, in sections of Indiana where loose 
smut is very prevalent. It is unusually susceptible to 1 oose smut, and perhaps more than any other variety 
is subjected to modified hot-water treatment. For these reasons it has been included in many of the 
•experiments reported herein. 
