VOL. LXII
INDIANAPOLIS, JUNE   8,   1907.
NO. 28
DETERIORATION    OF     WHEAT.
How Quality is Affected by Climate
Soil, Culture Etc.
Read before the Indiana Mlllera' AHSOciatlon Iiv
Prof. A. T. Wltini-ko, of I'uriliie University,
May   IS,   ll»7.
Ill considering the question of deterioration of wheat, there are a number of
points to be taken into account, effecting
the producer, the miller, the baker ami
the consumer. Deterioration may take
place along a nnmber of different lines.
Kach has its particular causes, and each
has a definite relation to the ultimate
\ alue of the wheat. The farmer is
mostly concerned with the yielding power,
liardineess against unfavorable Weather
conditions, and resistance to rust ami
other diseases. The miller looks at the
plumpness, hardness, size and shape of a
berry; weight, color, brightness; and, itr
general, those characteristics which indicate to him the amount and equality of
the flour the wheat will produced. The
baker is concerned with the color of the
flour, its texture, and any other qualities which indicate to him the amount and
quality of the bread it will make.
Since the members of this association
are chiefly or wholly interested in tbe
production of flour for broad making, I
sball confine my attention to the qualities
required in wheat for thnt purpose. It
will not be necessary here to take up time
in discussing the qualities that go to make
up a good grade of wheat, since every
well informed miller is well acquainted
with the compositon and other characteristics of wheat upon which good quality
depends.
The quality of wheat is dependent upon, and is variously affected by climate,
soil, variety of wheat, quality of seed,
cultural methods, time of maturity, time
of harvesting, and methods of curing
and storing; and any one of those factors may cause deterioration, or a falling
off in quality.
The climate, including temperature and
moisture condition, has more influence
tban all other factors upon the quality
of the wheat produced in a given section of country. Studies of the climatic
conditions, in wheat producing areas all
over the world, have shown that the
wheat of best quality are produced in
localities having extreme climates. The
temperature and moisture conditions, especially from the time of blossoming to
time of ripening, or during the last month
before harvest, very largely determine
the quality of the wheat produced. Cool,
moist weather produces rather soft, light
colored wheats, as is the case in New
York and the New England states. Hot,
dry weather, produces hard, glutenous
wheats, as is the case in Kansas. Nebraska, Minnesota, the Dakotas and
Manitoba. In parts of Oregon, Washington and Idaho, the cool weather, even
though dry. tends to produce starchy
wheats. Several inveestigators have
shown that the same variety when moved
from one climate to another will change
in character, and become more and more
like the acclimated wheats of the particular locality. For example, a wheat
moved from New York to Kansas, will
gradually become darker in color and
more glutenous, and a wheat
taken from Kansas to New
York, will gradually beoome lighter in color and more starchy. The influence of climate is further shown in the
wide differences  in   the  gluten  of  wheats
in different seasons in the same locality.
At the Ohio Kxperiment Statinn, the
average par cent of protein in 4_ varieties
of wheat, was !).r>7 in 190.'i, and 10.07 in
1901, a difference of 6.5 per cent in favor
of the dry, hot season. This, however.
il nn extreme; the season- of 1901 was so
excessively hot and dry that the wheat
was very mueh checked in development,
and the grain was very much shriveled
and light in weight and in yield per acre.
The ripening period was unduly shortened.
l'lenty of moisture makes a loirg ripening period, producing more straw, and
elaborating more stareh, which results in
a  low proportion of gluten,  and  yields •
mil deterioration of wheal may be caused
by diminishing soil  fertility. Wherever
the soil has been ruu down, or worn
out, as the saying is, by heavy cropping
and careless management, the quality of
the wheat produced is not nearly as good
as it was when the snil wns tirst brought
nniler  cultivation. This  is the case  in
n.nny  pnrts ot Southern  Indiana.     The
supply   eif   available   plant   food   has   be-
euine seriously ilepleteil. nml the virgin
humus hns been used up to sueh nn extent thnt actual poverty exists in the
soil. The remedy here lies obviously in
restoring the original amount of humus
to the soil, and in bringing up the available   plant   food   supply   to   a   reasonable
Westview Farm, llmni
Eppley, Wabash •'".
more or loss soft, starchy wheat. A uniformly warm ripening period, with only
i tinugli moisture to prevent untimely ripening or shriveling, gives the best climate condition for the production of a
good strong wheat.
The influence of the seiil upon tin- quality of whent is not so marked ns is that
of climate, but it is of sufficient importance to merit careful attention. Of
course, soils that are very much out of
balance in plant food, or are in texture
quite united to wheat production, may
are exceptions, and wheat is seldom
grown under such conditions. A good
soil for wheat should be rather fine and
firm in texture, and should contain a
good supply of available plant food, and
especially   of   active   humus. Carlton
says, concerning the Eastern states, that
the soil, if not heavily fertilized, does
not contain the necessary amount of alkali, phosphate, and humified organic
matter required for the production of
hard, glutenous wheats. In the "irrigated wheat" district (New Mexico,
Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana) the lack of humus in the
soil is the chief cause of the low gluten
content. The     wheats  are    extremely
starchy, and hard sorts, when introduced, deteriorate rapidly. In the
"white wheat" district (Pacific Coast)
the wheat is also very starchy, and low
ir. gluten, and here, too, the most important cause is generally considered to
be lack of humus in the soil. 1'rnirie
soils, rich in Organic matter, wjth hot
summer climates, and not mueh s.mmer
rniu, produce the hardest and best
wheats. In a given locality, as for
example,    the State of Indiana, a  grad-
level. On a well balanced, fertile soil,
with plenty of humus, the application of
manures or special fertilizers has no very
material affect upon the quality of wheat.
Concerning the effect of variety upon
quality, it is well known that different
varieties, grown in the same locality,
may be very different in any and all qualities. We have, for instance, on the
University farm at Lafayette, the Daw-
men's tiolden Chaff, ami the Velvet Chaff
varieties, grown under the same conditions for many years. The former is a
rattier soft, whitish wheat, containing, in
1905, 10.48 per cent of protein, and the
latter a rather hard, reddish wheat, containing 13.71 per cent of protein. In the
samt year the greatest difference
in protein content among 59
varieties of wheat tested at once
station was 4.58 per cent; the lowest,
Earl's Prolific, testing 10.11. and the
highest, Treadwell, testing 14.09 per eent
of protein. In this case, however, it
is probable that both varieties are not
thoroughly acclimated. At the Ohio
Station the greatest difference among 42
varieties, ou an average of four years,
was 2.07 per cent. Such varietal differences may be maintained, at least for
ninny years, and perhaps indefinitely, in
spite of the unifying influence of climate
and soil. The existence of those and
many other differences between varieties
grown f'ir mnny years under the same
conditions, points to the possibility of
improving the qualities of wheat, by continually selecting for seed wheat possessing the better qualities, and establishing
new-   varieties   by   intelligent    system      of
lere'e'lling.
Considering   these   varietal   differences,
we enn readil) se-e thnt a sudden nnel pro-
noimeiel deterioration of wheat in a given
locality tuny be brought about by extensive Importation of varieties poor in
quality. In our experiment station work,
we are constantly endeavoring to eneour-
age tbe' production ol those wheats which
possess the liest qunlilies consistent with
profitable yields, and we are conducting
extensive breeding work with a view to
further improving the best varieties now
nt baud.
Tbe quality of the seed from year to
year by the farmer, without changing the
variety, also has some effect in preventing or hastening deterioration in a given
locality. Seed wheat should always be
carefully selected so as to use only plump,
well developed and mature grain. Mnny
eef our farm fir ■ do not use proper methods  of   separating  out  the inferior  seeds,
and   consequently;   deterioration   p_oc Is
from  yenr  to  yenr,  nnd   we have  what is
termed   "running  out"   of  the   variety.
Careless cultural methods, such as
poorly prepared soil, lack of proper plant
fi.oel, nnel untimely sowing, have more or
less influence In bringing about deterioration. With the majority of our
wheat growers, there is plenty of room
tot improvement in these matters, and
vviiyeiiic concerned should endeavor to
point   out   the   better  methods.
The time at which wheat matures, and
the length of the growing and ripening
periods, may be important factors In
determining the quality, especially in
certain seasons. Generally speaking,
enrly heading and early maturity are desirable. Two varieties, differing in
time of maturity by only two or three
ilnys, may produce grain quite different
in quality, by reason of the effect of the
weather during the last few days of ripening. We frequently have excessively
hot, dry weather at the time of ripening,
and the later varieties may suffer quite
materially iu the course of a day or two.
The time of harvesting wheat also has
more or less effect upon quality. Cutting
too green prevents the proper tilling out
of the kernel, and allowing the crop to
stand after it is fully ripened, hurts the
quality through undue exposure to the
sun and weather. The color and brightness of the grain may be especially injured in this way.
The method of curing the cut grain in
the sheaf, has a mort or less important
effect upon the quality of the wheat, according to the condition of the weather.
An immense amount of damage is done to
Indiana wheat every year by exposure in
shocks for from two to five or six weeks
beforer threshing. This damage has
been estimated at from five to teu per
cent, and even fifteen to twenty per
cent iu bad seasons. The color and
luster of the grain invariably suffer by
exposure to the weather, either in shocks
or through standing until overripe. Often
blistering of the bran results, and in wet
weather there is much sproutinfi moulding, and other damage to quality. The
condition commonly known as "yellow
berry" is often largely due to exposure
of   ripe   wheat   to   the   weather. The
proportion of "yellow berry" produced by
exposure was found by Lyon to be greatest in seasons unfavorable to high nitrogen content of wheat, and on soils poor
iu nitrogen. The best way to cure the
sheaves after they are thoroughly dry, is
to put them in barns or well built stacks,
where ns little as possible of the grain
is directly exposed to the weather.
Concluded oa page 8.