Indications of Hail Resistance among Varieties of Winter Wheat

Abstract

Crop damage by hail is one of the many hazards incident to production of winter wheat. Smith (8) summarized data collected over a period of 11 years which showed that approximately one-twentieth of all weather damage to wheat grown in the United States was caused by hail. This was about one-half the amount caused by diseases or insects. Loss in wheat as the result of hail storms is a tragedy familiar to everyone who has had contact with the growing of wheat. There were 75 hail storms reported in Kansas in June, 1939, (4) indicating a high frequency of this phenomenon. Varieties of wheat exhibit differential reactions to many hazards, such as cold, lodging, shattering, diseases, various insects, and others, so it comes as no surprise that certain varieties seem to differ in their reaction to hail stones. Neatby (7) reported varietal differences among spring wheat varieties observed in Alberta in 1938 and 1939 and among spring barley varieties in 1939. He reported a range in varietal reaction of 40 per cent for wheat and over 90 per cent for barley. Several investigators have studied the effects of simulated hail damage. Among these are Klages (6) on flax, Eldredge (3) on small grains, Dungan (1), Eldredge (2) and Hume and Franzke (5) on corn. These latter investigators have shown the important relative effects of hail coming at different stages in the development of the crop but do not emphasize varietal reaction. On June 7, 1939, in late afternoon, a hail storm, extending over an area 2 miles wide and 20 miles long, inflicted variable damage to crops northwest of Manhattan, Kansas. Included in its path were the varietal test plats of winter wheat at the Agronomy Farm and the plant breeding nursery. Gross estimates of the damage to wheat were placed at 75 per cent on the Agronomy Farm and 25 per cent in the nursery. Careful estimates made later showed average varietal differences in the plats of 42.0 per cent in amount of broken straw and 14.0 per cent in quantity of grain beaten from the heads. Similar contrasts were apparent in the nursery. Representative differences are shown in Fig. 1. A few detailed results seem worthy of presentation.