MAIZE SEED

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 194, 2 August 1940, Page 5

MAIZE SEED

POINTS IN SELECTION r IMPORTANCE IN VIEW OF ' SHORTAGE In view of the Government's appeal for increased production of maize in the Bay- of Plenty and the seriousness of the maize seed shortage, the following article by Mr C. R. Taylor, Fields Instructor, Department of Agriculture, Whakatane, on the selection of the seed, is worthy of the closest attention. Nowadays a great deal' of the foif~ mer uncertainty of seed purchase has been removed, by the scientific study of plant characteristics., writes Mr Taylor, whereby it has been sible to evolve graduaully a system. ' of seed production which definitely • insures farmers against the risks of the past. Such an innovation h r as naturally meant a great deal to the farmer, in much the same way as :the herd-testing scheme has offered ; him an opportunity of increasing I his herd production by 'knowing" his cows. ' j As time goes on, 110 doubt, Che ' certification scheme will be extend- ! Ed to seed of most of the economic species, but in the-meantime growers-; of sect! for crops such as mafze can do much either to make or mar their own or other growers*, crops by the degree of care given to : the selection of seed. It is therefore ■tlie duty of the grower to do his upmost to save s£ed? in such a mariner as;/will' ensure the best possible r.e-» turn for his outlay and labour; for carelessness will not accomplish this end aoiy more than will the use of a grade bull of doubtful ancestry increase the productiveness of a dairy, herd'. Let us remember, therefore, that '"like begets like,'* or, in other words r poor-quality seeds will produce poor yielding crops. Points in Selection. In.the selection of maize for seed purposes it is customary to pick lilcely-looking cobs from the crib at tlve time of shelling. While it is ad-? mitted that this practice can, if conscientiously carried out, give very fair results, it is safe to say that it cannot produce the best results, for when it is selected in this way important details concerning the plant Itself 'cannot be taken into consideration. One might just as well try to assess the virtues of a bunch of calves without seeing or knowing anything; of their parentage as toassess the true value of seed maize without any knowledge of the plant that bore it. Consequently, there is only one. possible way of saving seed as it should be saved, and that : is by selecting from the field and: . not from the crib. Many growers will complain that field selection is too laborious,-but , when one recalls that only from Ift [ lb to 141b of seed are required ta ■ plant an acre of maize for grain it is surely not toe much of an undertaking to gather this comparatively small quantity of seed from the most promising plants when the reward for so doing can be so greatRequirements. (1) Attention to variety characteristics; (2) Attention to strain within the variety. . The first requirement is very important because of , the fact that maize crosses readily and at tiimes : variety characteristics are easily ob- ' literated. This can have disastrous results at times, and in some cases, ; no matter by what name this maize is called it will not mature', fast enough to save the crop from early ; frost, etc., and ultimate destruction. [ Dealing with the second require-' ment, it is onls- by being able to differentiate between the desirable and undesirable characteristics of each that Ave can 'sift the grain from the chalF and really select ' seed of high merit. How to Select. » , In selecting maize for seed, there- " fore, first make certain that thef crop is reasonably typical of the variety grown. ' If satisfied on tjhis point, select only those particular plants which show extreme vigour of growth and which have their cobs drooping downwards so that the tips distinctly point to the ground. As all- maize varieties produce. 1 both strong and .weak plants—somei with their cobs pointing upwards,, and others downwards—such char-* »' acteristics obviously cannot be as- ■ sociated with particular varieties; rather must they be regarded / asr strain features, and seed should bet selected accordingly. Naturally, crlh - selection has its limitations, and . growers would be well advised ta - undertake this important task iu. the field before general plucking..