The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, March 22, 1920, Page 5

Marquis or Kubanka—Which Is Better? Amber Durum Outyields Hard Spring Wheats, North Dakota Experiments Show, but Market Questlon Enters -~ L4 aners who desire to secure further information in gard experiments cited in this article should wflte to the North Dakota Agricultural college, Fargo, N. D., and ask for circular No. 34, ‘Wheats,” . from which th taken. “Marquis Versus Durum e data we are using is largely FEW weeks ago the Leader discussed the question of D5, or “red durum” wheat. It was shown that red durum, while a consistently heavy yielder, especially in years in which other wheats were destroyed by rust, is now bringing much lower prices than other durums or hard spring wheats, millers, bakers and macaroni . manufacturers claiming that the peculiar color of the wheat and comparatively low baking qualities interfered with its sale. It was shown, however, that the quality of this wheat was likely to be im- ., proved. Growers were advised to plant compara- tively small amounts of red durum because, with "« the federal price guarantee removed, the price was likely to be forced still lower. If the farmer does not plant red durum, should his choice be one of the hard spring wheats that have been grown successfully for many years or one of the amber durums ? ‘Some experiments which have been conducted at North Dakota Agricultural - college experiment stations point to the answer. ‘First should be considered the ha{ad spring wheats. Experiments at five North Dako in the last seven years give the following results: Yield in bushels Velvet Stations Marquis Fife Bluestem chaff 23.3 19.8 17.1 18.7 17.0 1200 15.56 12.9 14.6 17.5 15.8 18.3 31.3 80.0 29.2 £ It is clear that Marquxs is the best pro- ducer of these varieties. The supenonty of Marquls over the other hard spring wheats is especially noticeable durmg “rust years.” i Now what of Marquis as compared with the durum wheats? In the last seven years, for which figures are avail- able at four expenment stations, there were three bad rust years—1914, 1916 and 1919—while during the other four years rust ravages were not so great, therefore a comparison of the seven years should be a fair one. The following table gives the yields of Marquis, the best of the spring wheats, as compared with Kubanka ‘and Arnautka, the two leading b Sazums: =Yield -fi~ busbels Mnmmn Arnautka Kubanka .. 233 21.8 25.9 21.6 24.7 28.4 17.0 20.0 20.6 30.2 82.2 32.6 It can be seen at a glance that the Kubanka yield is larger than the Marquis yield at every station, while the Arnautka yield is larger than the Marquis yxeld everywhere except ‘at Fargo. In the Trust years the superlorlty of the durum wheats over the Marquis is especially noticeable. At ‘Dickinson, during the worst two rust years— 1914 and 1916—the yields were: Marquis, 13.7 bushels; Arnautka, 13.10 bushels; Kubanka, 15.556 bushels. A$ Langdon, during the three rust years —1914, 1916 and 1919—the yields -were: Marquis, 15.5- bushels; Arnautka, 18.6 bushels; Kubanka, . 24.8 bushels. 15-YEAR TESTS OF ARNAUTKA AND KUBANKA YIELDS Which of the two amber durums is the better 'yielder? The figures above indicate that Kubanka has the choice. In comparing these two wheats with each other, however, North Dakota has tests covering as many as 15 years at different stations. Here' they are: & . Number of years Yield in bushels recorded . Arnautka = Kubanka .................. 15 i 29.6 ...... 11 257 - 26.7 ...... 12 22.8 23.4 ...... 11 28.2 28.9 ................. 12 . 21.3- 19.9 At every experiment station except Edgeley the comparisan favors Kubanka. At Edgeley the figures do not include two bad rust years, during which the Kubanka yield probably would have been greater than Amautka ¥ 3 3 ; S stations . M -marouis A -aArnAUTKA DICKINSON These experiments clearly prove these points: That Marquis is the best yielder of the hard spring wheats. That the amber durums yield better than Mar- quis, especially in rust years. That Kubanka is the best yielder of the amber durums. The United States department of agriculture, in a recent bulletin, makes similar findings. Of the hard spring wheats the federal experts say Marquis is to be preferted to other varieties with these ex- ceptions—that in southern Minnesota velvet chaff (Preston) may be a better yielder and less suscep- tible to scab and that on old la... in northwestern North Dakota fife may be better because Marquis may not grow tall enough for harvesting 'with a binder. The federal experts go on to say: “Durum wheats are more resistant to drouth and rust than the common wheats and are better adapt- ed to shallow soils. adapted to all of the varying conditions of the northern semi-arid plains. Arnautka and Mindum are best adapted to more humid parts of the noerth- ern spring section and Pelissier to the higher and drier sections of Montana, Wyoming and Colorado. T'wo rust-resistant varieties are Acme and D5. The Acme has been developed only recently and is grown largely in South Dakota. The D5 is a red- kerneled * durum inferior for' flour and semolina 4 1 ML 1| Ifllllllllw AN nuuurmumnnummu FARGO mlllmg and therefore is not recommended for growing.” What other factors must the farmer consider be- ‘sides yield? Clearly these three other points must be kept in mind: Price, possibility: of securing seed and planting comktxons When durum wheats were first introduced there was a marked price discrimination against them. Doctor E. F. Ladd and other North Dakota experts proved concluswely that this discrimination was unfair and that in many respects durum was better than the hard spring wheats. Gradually the ‘price discrimination vanished. Two years ago durum wheat was actually commanding a premium. Now it is down again, selling, as this article is written, about 25 cents a bushel below northern spring on the Minneapolis market. The chief reason for the present price discrimina- tion against amber durum is the foreign exchange market. About half of the durum wheat now grown in the United :States is marketed abread. At the present rate of- foreign exchange European money is so heavily discounted that it will only buy a little more than half its face value. As a result European purchases are declining. This same condition may obtain this fall or be- come even worse. On the other hand, so much at- tention is being directed to the exchange situation that it 'may be relieved somewhat. It is also quite likely that macaroni manufacturers, who have been PAGE FIVE The Kubanka variety is best * n ---—..---_‘_---.-Bl' QNN LANGDON Vll LLlSTON Comparative yields per acre of Marquis, Arnautka and Kubanka wheats at North Dakota experiment stations during the past seven years. extending their business in the United States, will be able to take a larger portion of the American durum crop this fall than ever before. The North Dakota experiments indicate that even with the discrimination against durum, under present prices it is likely to pay better than Mar- quis. The price of No. 1 amber durum is approx- imately’ 10 per cent less than the price of No. 1 northern spring. But in North Dakota experiments since 1913, Kubanka outyielded Marquis 12 per cent at Fargo, 32 per cent at Langdon and 21 per cent at Dickinson. In earlier years there was less dif- ference between the yields of the two wheats. Throughout the experiments it has been noted that at the Fargo station, in the Red River valley, Kubanka and Arnautka have less advantages over ~ the hard red spring wheats than in the drier sec- tions of the state. REDUCTION IN PRICE OF WHEAT IS IMPROBABLE On the average it is fair to say that on the basis of the North Dakota experiments pure Kubanka is apt t0 yield 20 per cent more than pure Marquis. If pure seed of both varieties is available, each farmer should ask himself: Is durum likely to drop in price 20 per cent below ordinary spring wheat? That is a question no one can answer definjtely. But reports from Europe are that the demand for food is so pressing there that a single year’s.crop is unlikely to meet their need. And from various parts of . the United States it is reported that la- bor shortages and lack of sufficient credit are likely to prevent farmers from putting Jin as large wheat crops as in previous years.. Unless some additional legisla- tion is enacted the government price guarantee will not apply to the 1920 crop, but if there is a world-wide short- age wheat is likely to remain high and high prices are likely to apply to the durums as well as other wheat, though : | _ some discrimination is still to be ex- : pected. i On the question of possibility of secur- ing seed it must be borne in mind that the experiments in question were made with pure seed of each variety. Each farmer must determine for himself whether the seed that he can secure will make Marquis or Kubanka a better prop- osition fowhim. On-thic point the North Dakota bulletin states: “Many ‘of the existing differences in prices of wheat would probably disappear if both durum and hard red spring reached the market in a less mixed con- dition. Purity of product always com- mands a premium, whether the pure product is wheat or a purebred dairy cow.’ Marquis being an older wheat it is naturally easier in many sections to obtain a pure.grade of seed of this variety. However, the seed informa- tion service of the North Dakota Agricultural col- lege has listed many growers of pure seeds of both amber and red durums and many farmers doubtless know where they can secure pure seed in their own localities, without resorting to the seed information service. On the third point—planting conditions—the farmer is hkely to favor Kubanka over Marquls, which' requires partlcularly early spring sowing. Scientific experiments show beyond question the superior yielding qualities, especially in rust years, of the durum wheats. Every farmer knows the easier planting conditions.” What each farmer must decide for himself ds: : Is the price discrimination against durum likely to overcome the advantage of the increased yield? Can reasonably .pure seed be secured? An active and well-financed propaganda has been carried on in behalf of Marquis wheat for some years past. Letters from some farmers indicate, however, that they are not altogether satisfied with this wheat. The Leader would be glad to hear from farmers who “have tried both the Marquis and other varieties. Tell us both the yield and the price received and we will hand the information on to other farmers who may want it. i e ———— TR