Agriculture - Barns - Farming - Livestock

Sep. 09, 1966 - The World's first electro-activated field of Wheat': At a press conference held at Holt Farm, near Watford, Dr. Harry Hurst, aged 53, a Cambridge scientist who has been working for more than twenty years on a new approach to the central problem in biology cell replication announced that he has discovered a method of altering the growth patterns of the embryo cells in seeds soas to increase growth rate and ultimate yield with a reasonable degree of certainty. Dr. Hurst, who has his own laboratories at Foxton Hall, Cambridgeshire, has called this new process electro-activation, and demonstrated the spectacular results obtained with the first electro-activated wheat field in the world in a field Holt Farm where several acres of electro-activated wheat could be compared with a similar area of untreated wheat. The treated plots of wheat were strong, dense and of good colour; the untreated wheat as much thinner, weaker and the dark colour of stalks and ears indicated that it should have been harvested some weeks ago. the electro-activated wheat was also significantly more weed-free than the untreated or control wheat. Although final figures will not be obtained until after harvesting samples taken from random square yard plots suggested that there would be an increased yield of well over 20 percent; in some areas it was obvious that the increase was cosiderably higher than this. When asked how he had developed electro-activation, Dr. Hurat said: As I hope to develop the process commercially on world-wide scale, I cannot reveal details at this stage. I should like to point out, however, that similar promising results have also been obtained with other crops, such as barley, and the yields should be availabel in the near future. large scale trial of electro-activated rye-grass has been arranged in Australia, where more than half a ton of seed is being planted. Elsewhere preliminary works in progress in India and Ceylon on rice tea

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Acres Altering Although Announced Approach Arranged Asked Barley Biology Cambridgeshire Cannot Cells Certainty Ceylon Commercially Compared Crops Degree Demonstrated Dense Details Develop Developed Discovered Ears Elsewhere Embryo Foxton Harvested Harvesting Higher Holt However Hurst Increase Increased Indicated Laboratories Method Obtained Obvious Percent Planted Plots Preliminary Promising Random Rate Reasonable Replication Results Reveal Samples Seed Seeds Significantly Similar Spectacular Stalks Suggested Thinner Treated Ultimate Untreated Watford Weaker Wheat World-wide Yield Yields

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