The U. S. D. A. turned their breeding stocks of 
Dixie over to us and several good strains were bred 
and introduced. Later, from a cross of Dixie and 
Webber 49 was bred the Super-Seven series. 
In the meantime, seed of the new staple Cleve¬ 
lands were planted on these wilt soils. The plants 
that survived were selected, planted back on wilt 
soils in plant-to-rows continuously until uniform 
strains were found that combined full length staple, 
high production and wilt resistance. This gave rise 
to our Clevewilt cottons, all tracing back to our 
Coker lVk" Cleveland. Clevewilt Strain 7 (see page 
12) is the best of these cottons. We are continuing 
large scale breeding experiments with these cottons 
and have many new and promising strains. 
Many hybrids have been made between various 
wilt and non-wilt cottons in an effort to get earlier 
maturity and thinner foliage. From a cross of Coker 
Foster Strain 6 and Clevewilt, we have bi’ed Coker’s 
4-in-l, a cotton that is intermediate in type between 
the parents. It combines earliness, vigor, boll size, 
storm resistance, good picking qualities and high 
production. Strain 1 of this cotton, offered first in 
1938, has met with general acclaim. We are offering 
Strain 2 (see pages 10 and 11) this year and have 
many new strains in breeding tests and increase. 
By continuous selection and plant-to-row testing 
on wilt soils, we are trying to breed wilt resistance 
into all our cottons. Shown in photo on page six is 
a new Coker 100 that shows a high degree of wilt 
resistance. We have many such strains coming from 
Coker 100, Farm Relief and new hybrids. 
Our wilt breeding program is by far the most 
comprehensive and extensive of any in the U. S. 
Not only are more plant selections and strains being 
tested, but we have discovered that there are at 
least three, and perhaps more, different physio¬ 
logical races of wilt. A variety of cotton may be 
resistant to one or more and susceptible to the 
others. Where these differences occur, the worst wilt 
areas are marked out and all our wilt varieties and 
new selections are planted, with from one to eight 
replications. Four such plots were planted the past 
year. Accurate counts are made and those strains 
that show highest resistance to all races of wilt are 
saved. So important is the wilt problem that at 
present over half of our breeding work is on such 
soils. 
That there is “safety in numbers” was never 
truer than when applied to plant breeding. We once 
selected and tested hundreds of plants, now we 
select and test thousands. Our breeding and test 
technique has been so perfected that experimental 
error is small. Only those cottons of proven superi¬ 
ority are ever offered as new strains or varieties. 
SMALL GRAINS 
Our small grain breeding work, started in the 
fall of 1908 when the first plant-to-row of oats and 
Abruzzi rye was planted, has continuously increased. 
First, pedigreed Appier strains were bred and intro¬ 
duced; later, pedigreed Fulghum strains. Some years 
the oat crop was a total failure due to winter kill¬ 
ing. Our breeders saw that we must have cold 
resistant varieties that would make maximum yields 
every year. From crosses made by our Dr. J. B. 
Norton, the wonderful Norton cold resistant oats 
were bred and introduced. 
Smut has always been a problem. The Navarro, 
a poorly adapted low yielding variety, was immune 
to smut. This was crossed on our Fulghum and 
from this cross was bred Coker 33-50, an oat more 
productive than the Fulghum and highly resistant to 
smut. Coker 33-50 was not cold resistant, so the 
Norton strains, carrying the cold resistant factors, 
were crossed on Navarro and strains were bred that 
combined the smut resistance of the Navarro with 
the cold resistance of the Nortons. Coker 32-1 was 
the first of these to be introduced and was followed 
by Coker 33-47 and the superior Fulgrain variety. 
Another limiting factor in oat production was 
rust. Certain South American varieties, introduced 
in the United States are highly rust resistant but 
are undesirable in all other characters. Following 
the logical procedure, the high yielding cold and 
smut resistant types were crossed on these rust 
resistant types. From such crosses many new strains 
of oats have been bred that combine the cold, smut 
and rust resistance of the parents and are now in 
various stages of testing and increase. 
WHEAT 
A similiar breeding program is being carried on 
with wheats. A striking new Redhart strain is 
ready for distribution and new hybrid strains are 
being bred that will combine leaf rust, stem rust 
and mildew resistance with high yield and wide 
adaptability. 
Breeding plot of a new oat which combines resistance to rust with Showing third generation segregations of a cross of Victoria X 
cold and smut resistance ... to be introduced in fall of 1940. Fulgrain . . . parents of the new oat shown in photo on left. 
Page Seven 
