PLANT SELECTION

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8345, 4 February 1913, Page 2

PLANT SELECTION

WORE OF NATIONAL IMPORTANCE. FARMERS INVITED TO CO-OPER-ATE. Some few morlths ago reference was made in these columns to the splendid work that has been undertaken by the State to improve the qiialily of • grain and fodder plants by careful selection and observation. At the Ruakura farm of instruction the work has been going on for several years, and already some very important progress has been made. At Moumahaki also a beginning has beeii made, ami there is no doubt that within a few years the results of the work put ih liand will show some valuable tangible results as the outcome of the research and observation that is being conducted at these experimental stations. This is a of a national character, whore every observant farmer can assist, and in which the authorities invito his co-operation. In the current issue of the '‘Agricultural Journal" Mr W. S. Hill, the officer in charge of the plant-selection plots at Moumahaki, outlines the principles underlying the work, rind appeals for the assistance of farmers in the work. “The improvement of plants by selection, which is one of the features of tho new agriculture, is not, as many believe, a new science. It was ail axiom of ancient growers of grain, ail'd, was probably known to the Chinese before the dawn of Western civilisation.; In bringing the many cereals and fodder plants known to the agricultural wotfd to their present stage of perfection some process of selection has been continuously at work. Attention, however, , been directed id the great possibilities ih systematising the work by that pioneer in liiodom plant-breeding. Dr Nilsson, the Swedish investigator.” DR NILSSON'S METHODS. A brief outline of the principles underlying Dr Nilsson's work with cereals may not do out of place. Having secured by e'electlon a large htimber or promising ears, ho proved that each variety had >many sltidiius, e;|rii of which. would breed true to type. To determine the rhost useful of those strains rows oi equal Jcrgth were planted seed by seed, and by comparison of the resulting product) he was abk> to deterinine which strain possessed the most desired characters These strains breed true to typo for many generations, and the value of a pure strain of any cereal compared with the ordinary commercial sample is most marked. Thb distinguishing features which have appealed to the grower are purity of trample, evenness of ripening, and increas'd yield. Nilsson wits also able to determine the effect oi environment on selected plants. It is by the produce of individual plants in the'next generation—when the influence of environment has been eliminated —that the true comparative value of the individuals is demonstrated. Thus there is the necessity for classing piant-brcea-ing work under two main heads : (1) beiectiou throughout the country ,* (2) testing at plant-breeding stations, preferably in the locality in which tho selections are made. LOCAL SELECTION DESIRABLE. While other and older countries have given us improved strains wfilcn. are being grown in increasing stocks in this country, something is being a one by New Zealand investigators to carry on work under local conditions. Ine necessity for this is apparent, as selecting from acclimatised plants must ensure results of a more lasting character. Again varieties suited to one locality are entirely useless iii many others, hence local selection is always of more econo* inic value than working with types produced in a foreign country. Ihe wide range of soils and climatic conditions in New Zealand point to the advisability of each district selecting, from its own pastures forage and ebreal crops. WHAT IS BEING DONE. Plant-breeding is at present being carried on nt Canterbury Agricultural Oillege by Dr Hilger.dorf, who has already obtained promising results in .the,, improvement of well-known varieties of

wheat and mils. At Ruakuia Farm of Instruction, the horticulturist. Mr (ircen. has done very valuable work iiv the selection of a rust-nsi-ding strain of oats and the improvement of certain grasses. Indications at Monmahaki Experimental Farm point to improvement in many grasses and forage crops, notably cocksfoot. silver-beet, and lucerne. In all, onlv a dozen pairs of eyes have been systematic-ally selecting types from our crops, am! the area covered lias been very, very small; yet most encouraging result,., have so far been obtained. Here is presented an excellent opportunity for agricultural instructors to do work of great value. WO Ilk FOR THE YOUTH. Most of our country offers virgin ground for selection, and if the leys amt girls of our country schools could be. interested sufficiently to bring to this school-gardens any plants they sec- whies shew better growth than the average plant of that variety, then thousands of pairs of eyes, instead _of a dozen, would ixi searching for improved plait's. No finer training for the farmer’s child could be. afforded Utah that of observation of nature, and continually seeking tor something better, with the aim ol advancing individual and national progross. Many teachers taking elementary agriculture as one of their school courses find that they have run through the class of experiments that they can easily perform on the land at their disposal, and if any such teacher desires a new useful course of work of great educational value for his pupils he could not do better than apply to, one of the three students named for particulars as to the methods of making selections. Should any attain prove valuable, it could bt named after the school from which it was sent. TWO EXAMPLES. To quote two examples of what has been done by chance selection; Rape, the mainstay of the fat-lamb industry, is said to have originated from a wayside plant; while Western Wolths grass, an improvement on Italian ryegrass, started from a robust plant found by a sihall farmer iii Holland. That there are thousands of exceptionally tine individual plants existing. in our pastures and crops to-day there is no room to doubt. Some of these may bc secured by those already oh the alert. How many move would be secured if the schools took up the work of selection! The field lor activity is great indeed, and, did the subject attract the individual attention it should, the possibilities ot plant-breeding in this country are practically unlimited.”