Hayes and Garber - Cucurbit Breeding

CHAPTER VIII
METHODS OF BREEDING SMALL GRAINS
The progeny test is now recognized as the best means of
determining the comparative productivity of varieties and
strains. Vilmorin's isolation principle was first used in the
United States in 1897 by Hopkins, of Illinois, for corn breeding,
and in 1890 by Hays, of Minnesota, for small grains. Studies
in field-plot technic and in crop genetics have led to standard
methods of breeding self-fertilized crops.
One of the important steps for the breeder is to obtain a broad
knowledge of the crop plant with which he is to work. This
consists of a knowledge of the home of the plant, its wild and
cultivated relatives, the existing varieties and their important
economic characters. It is also necessary to learn the needs of
the crop for the locality in which the breeder is to work. The
importance of this knowledge can not be over-emphasized.
After obtaining a fundamental knowledge of the crop, the work
in crop improvement naturally falls under three heads: (1) Introduction,
(2) Selection, (3) Crossing. Before taking these up,
attention will be given to a system for recording plant pedigrees.
Method of Keeping Continuous Records. There are numerous
methods of keeping records and as a rule each investigator
will modify some general scheme to fit his own particular needs.
It is also recognized that a plan which might prove satisfactory
for an experiment station investigator who works only in one
particular region might not be at all desirable for a federal
worker who has charge of crop investigations over a wide area.
The Minnesota plan has proved quite satisfactory, although
it is recognized that other methods of equal simplicity and value
have been developed by other workers. It is given only as
suggestive of the necessity of accurate records and as one means
of attaining that end. When a new introduction is first brought
to Minnesota it is given a Minnesota accession number and the
history, source, and other data are entered in the number book
for that crop. If the new introduction is a pedigreed form from
a nearby state and seems promising it is
placed at once in the
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