Hayes and Garber - Cucurbit Breeding

138 BREEDING CROP PLANTS
some of the more recent Turkey selections are nearly as hardy.
In the large number of crosses that have been studied since 1902
there is an outstanding fact worthy of emphasis from a plant
breeding viewpoint. Of the different crosses made, none proved
as winter-hardy as the Odessa-Turkey combination, although
numerous crosses between other winter wheats were studied.
This shows the necessity of studying carefully prospective parental
material to determine what should be used. When Odessa
was used it furnished an hereditary complex capable of withstanding
severe winters (Hayes and Garber, 1919).
FIG. 29. Turkey, Minn. 529. Grown in 1918. This variety winter-killed
very badly.
At University Farm and at Waseca one of the Odessa-Turkey
crosses, Minhardi, (Minnesota No. 1,505) has proved more
winter-hardy than the Odessa parent. This cross also possesses
very high yielding ability but the quality of seed is somewhat
inferior. Its ability to yield is probably inherited from the
Turkey, which yielded high in favorable seasons. Minturki
(Minnesota No. 1,507) is a bearded wheat obtained from a cross
of Odessa with Turkey. It is somewhat less winter-hardy than
Minhardi but it excels in quality and yielding ability. Table
XXXI presents data on some of the more promising forms of
winter wheat for Minnesota conditions.