BREEDING BETTER GRA 
RUST, COLD, AND SMUT RESISTANT OATS 
We are glad to announce that we will have ready for introduction 
in the fall of 1940 two new oats that combine a high degree of cold, 
smut and leaf or crown rust resistance, with high yield, storm 
resistance and good grain characters. 
These new oats were bred from a cross of the leaf rust and smut 
resistant oat, Victoria, and Fulgrain. This cross was made in the 
spring of 1933. Thousands of heads were selected from this cross and 
planted in head to rows in an effort to find strains that had combined 
all the good characters of both parents. These two new oats, namely 
Coker 39-1 and 39-2 are descended from the best of 11,000 such head 
selections in head to rows in 1936 and 1937. Coker 39-1 in oat variety 
increase test B in 1937 and 1938 was most outstanding. 
It was noticeably more cold resistant than Fulgrain 
Strain 2 check, was 5 to 8 days later with long, well- 
balanced heads, pretty grains and marked storm resist¬ 
ance. It produced 82.6 bushels per acre. The adjacent 
Fulgrain check produced 72.5 bushels. 
Coker 39-2 was likewise the outstanding strain in 
oat variety increase A test the same year. It was 
1. Crossing oat varieties to combine superior characters. 2. Third 
generation plant-to-row of Victoria x Fulgrain hybrids show¬ 
ing segregation. 3. General view of one of our grain breeding and 
test plots taken in early spring, 1939. 4. Showing relative cold 
resistance of Coker’s Fulgrain and Fulghum. 5. Rust spores in 
solution being sprayed on breeding selections to insure heavy 
infection so that relative resistance can be determined. 6. Note 
both outside leaves seriously damaged by rust, and clean, healthy 
appearance of the rust resistant center leaf. 7. Plant of one of 
our Victoria x Fulgrain segregates—note heavy head, stiff straw 
and excellent tillering. 8. This three-acre field of Victoria x Ful¬ 
grain 39-2 oat planted with 14J4 pounds of seed produced 189 
bushels or 63 bushels to the acre. 9. Note stiff straw and erect 
type of Coker’s new mildew resistant wheat on right and weak 
strawed sister selection on left. 1 O. This 16-acre field of our new 
wheat (highly resistant to mildew and with considerable rust 
resistance) planted with 14)4 pounds of seed yielded 64 bushels 
of fine wheat. 
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