Hayes and Garber - Cucurbit Breeding

282 BREEDING CROP PLANTS
WHAT IS
GOOD SEED?
There are certain characters of farm crops which must be
considered if the grower wishes to produce good seed. Good
seed of any farm crop must belong to a variety that is
superior
in the following respects
:
1. Adaptability to the locality and soil.
2. Yielding ability.
3. Purity to type for small grains or self-pollinated crops, and comparative
purity for corn and other cross-pollinated crops.
4. Quality for the particular characters for which the crop is grown.
5. Hardiness.
6. Erectness or ability to withstand lodging.
7. Disease escaping or resistance to disease.
The seed of the particular variety itself
the following:
must be superior in
1. Germinating ability.
2. Good color, plumpness and weight.
3. Uniformity.
4. Freedom from diseases transmitted by seed.
5. Freedom from any other damage.
6. Freedom from obnoxious weeds.
7. Freedom from mixture with other varieties.
Adaptability. We have already indicated that no one variety
always excels in yield or quality. All that the experiment
stations can do is to determine the few better varieties and in this
way assist the farmer to decide which to grow.
There are decided advantages in limiting the number of varieties.
It is of considerable value for one locality to produce large
quantities of a particular variety. Several reasons are apparent,
chief of which are: (1) The buyer can obtain a large amount of
seed of that particular variety. (2) The production of only a
few varieties or a single variety is of material help in keeping
purity of type, as there is not so much opportunity for (a) mixtures
in thrashing, growing, etc., or (6) cross-fertilization between
varieties, which causes variability of seed and plant characters
and, therefore, loss of purity of type.
Yielding Ability and Quality.
Variety tests carried on under
experimentally controlled conditions are the best means of determining
comparative yield and to some extent comparative quality