INDIAN HEAD, Sask. – Farmers who plant Lillian wheat this spring are continuing a 100-year-old practice that established Western Canada’s reputation as the breadbasket of the world.
Lillian is a direct descendant of Marquis wheat, a cross of Red Fife and Hard Red Calcutta first planted at what was then known as the Indian Head Experimental Farm in 1907.
On May 7, Marquis and Lillian were planted side by side at the Indian Head Research Farm to honour the 100th anniversary of a pivotal event in Canadian agricultural history.
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A team of horses, driven by Sheldon Matsalla from the Motherwell Homestead, pulled a hoe drill to seed the Marquis.
A modern plot seeder was used to plant the Lillian.
David Gehl, chief seed grower at Indian Head, said Marquis played a significant role in settling the West and developing the economy.
“Recently the development of Marquis wheat was identified as one of the top 50 inventions in Canada,” he told the crowd gathered for the seeding demonstration.
Charles Saunders gets most of the credit for developing Marquis, although it was his brother Percy who first crossed the two parent varieties in 1892. Charles began experimenting with the crosses in 1903.
Enough seed was available to plant the Indian Head test plots on May 6 and May 8, 1907. Of 18 varieties tested, Marquis was the earliest to mature and produced the highest yield.
It became available to farmers in 1909 and within a few years was the dominant variety on the Prairies. By 1920 it accounted for 90 percent of the wheat grown.
It won international awards in 1911 as the best sample of hard red spring wheat grown on the continent.
Marquis hasn’t been grown commercially for years but its genes are still present in varieties today.
Gehl described Marquis as the “granddaddy of them all.”
He noted that while it emerged the winner of 18 plots in 1907, today between 20,000 and 25,000 wheat crosses are tested in annual plots.
Ninety percent of all Canadian wheat seed is propagated at the Indian Head farm, and 66 registered varieties are distributed from the site.
Jeff Stewart, the science director for Agriculture Canada’s crop genetic enhancement program, said wheat breeding has come a long way in 100 years and shows no signs of slowing down.
“If you think the last 100 years has been pretty good … just wait for the next 100,” he said.
