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The Rural Voice, 1981-05, Page 19IMMINOGU COLUMN Farmers prefer stable seed varieties Good seed for planting is one of the basic requirements of successful crop production. and hence. of a stable agricultural industry. This fact was recognized early in this century by those farmers who were instrumental in starting the Canadian Seed Growers Association. The C.S.G.A., in co-operation with federal and provincial governments. has worked to ensure that high quality seed is available to our farmers. Seed must be of good germination, free from impurities. and of proven performance. The latter is ensured by purchasing seed of recommended varieties. Every year. hundreds of strains of field crops are tested at the various research stations located in Ontario. From these tests. the best strains arc chosen, are licenced, and then recommended for farm use. Many readers will remember when one. or perhaps two varieties, were recommended for each field crop. Today. many varieties are recommended. and it is often difficult to decide which one should be chosen. Let us consider. for a moment. one of our major forage crops. alfalfa. Twenty years ago. two varieties were recommended; Vernal, which is still recommended, and another variety, DuPuits. Vernal was recommended for long term stands, as it was very winterhardy. It was also of medium maturity. DuPuits vas earlier in maturity. not as winterhardy. and was susceptible to bacterial wilt. Thus. DuPuits was recommended only if the stand was to be plowed down after two harvest years. It was relatively easy to decide on one of these two varieties. Today. there are almost 30 varieties of alfalfa recommended For Ontario forage production. In our research trials, all arc similar in yield, and in winterhardincss. There arc minor differences in maturity. and in disease reactions. Despite the large number recommended. the forage producers seem to prefer two or three varieties of alfalfa. From our conversations with farmers. and with extension personnel, we hear about these hyo or three varieties. As a researcher interested in alfalfa. 1 have often wondered why those particular varieties were preferred. Our research results indicated that those selected are not better than the other 25 or so others. Where did we go wrong in our tests, or was it some other factor, such as availability of seed which made some varieties more popular than others? This past year. one of my students. P. Jefferson, has been reviewing our past tests of alfalfa varieties. He and 1 have looked at tests conducted at our Elora Research Station. and at other locations. over the past eights years. We noted that some varieties yield very well in some years or some locations. and poorly in others. On the other hand, other varieties were consistently above average in yield. These latter varieties can be said to have "stable" yield performance. Both groups may have similar average yields when grow n for several years in various locations. The stable varieties, however. were more consistent in their yield performance. It was interesting that those varieties which we found to be "stable" were the ones which farmers say thcy prefer. We need to consider this, factor when developing our forage variety recommendations as forages, once seeded, are left for several years. [By Prof B.R. Christie Crop Science Dept.. 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EPPS Manufacturing Limited Box 610, Hwy. 8E, Clinton, Ont. NOM 1L0 519-482-3418 THE RURAL VOICE/MAY 1981 PG 17 ... .....,„ ... ... • E. Altai."' lilts Alta., .,.., .. FOR CATALOGUES CONTACT: Carl Corcoran 416-893-1286 Leroy Raper 519-537-2849 Ben Poirier 613-489-3311 Mery Smith 519-527-0778 Cec Romanelli 416-775-3292 Don Weir 416-584-2035 Mel Mitchell 416-729-2748 Lunch Avolloble 0400 Joe Lonna 416-775-2837 Doug Thomson 519-855-4186 Geral Vint 705-432-2232 Allan Gray 705-326-6548 Phil Ritter 519-855-4053 June Barnes 519-856-9827 411r Quality + PRESSURE WASHERS • Effective • Quiet • Reliable Cleans Fast Choose the pressure you need: 700 PSI '1400 PSI 1000 PSI '2000 PSI * These models available In gas as � well as electric ieP 5 ASK FOR AN ON-FARM DEMONSTRATION C.H. EPPS Manufacturing Limited Box 610, Hwy. 8E, Clinton, Ont. NOM 1L0 519-482-3418 THE RURAL VOICE/MAY 1981 PG 17