Mountain Home maverick. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1906-1911, 1906-12-27

yield most heavily when they re-
ceive very abundant irrigation. In
my experience l have yet failed to
find one farmer who has refused to
apply to his fields all the water that
he could possibly obtain, though in
many cases it was manifest that
the large amounts of water led to
injurious ovei irrigation. Plants
respond very rapidly in yield and
quality to the water applied to the
soil, but in reality they can get
along with very small amounts OF
water and in many respects do bet
ter when the amount applied is be-
DIV rather than above the best. In
fact, the irrigation farmer who is
able to control the amount of water
applied to plants controls one of the
most important factors of plant life.
1t is generally true with all the
ordinary crops grown in the vest
scrn states that increasing the
amount of water increases the yield
mp to a certain point, after which
an increase of water causes a de-
crease in the yield. Not all crops
are alike in this respect, however.
Some crops, because of their ma
Fturc-lcaf surface, root system,
etc. find 10 inches of water
about right for the seasons
growth. Other plants, because of
their different natures, find IS
inches or 20 to 25 or so inches
the best.
Now, the farmer in an irrigated
section should know the water re-
quirements of the different plants
that he grows as thoroughly as he
knows the soil of his farm, his
water right or other matters upon
ponds. Not all plants decrease i'll
yield after a certain amount of
water has been applied. Potatoes
appear to be crop the yield of
which increases continually if
water is applied, up to the limit of
ythe practicable application of
water. To illustrate: In one set
of experiments seven and half
inches of water produced 100 BUSH
els of potatoes; IS inches, 233
bushels; 80 inches, 274 bushels, and
II inches, 315 bushels. In this
sseries the increase is constant
with the increase in irrigation
water. This illustrates the neces-
sity on the part of the farmer of
knowing thoroughly the natures of
the plants with which he deals.
The value of the first few finches
of water applied is much greater
than that of the later applications.
For instance, five inches of water
produced about SO bushels of wheat,
or about six and six-tenths bushels
per inch; s inches of water pro-
duced about 48 bushels of wheat,
or about three and two-tenths
bushels per inch of water, while 20
inches of water produced 40 bushels
Of wheat, or only two bushels per
inch of water The value of the
first five inches of water applied to
wheat, therefore, is more than three
times as much as the value of the
last five inches, in total depth of
30 inches. Similar results may be
observed in the case of oats. Five
inches of water produced So bushels
of oats, or II bushels per inch,
while 30 inches of water produced
SO bushels of oats, which is less
than five bushels per inch of water.
The difference is certainly very
striking. Even in the case Of
potatoes, the yield of which in
creases steadily with the increase
in irrigation water, the same fact
holds. Seven and one-half inches
of water produced 100 bushels OF
potatoes, or about % bushels per
inch, while 80 inches of water pro-
duced 274 bushels of potatoes,
which is only about nine bushels
per inch. Corn, alfalfa, the
various grasses, sugar beets, vege-
tables and all other crops show SIM
liar results, namely, that the value
of water is highest when it is used
sparingly and carefully; that the
value of water is lowest when it is
applied literally and carelessly.
With this generalization in mind,
note how these results may be
viewed in their relation to the in
crease of the irrigated area.
According to the investigations
of the department of agriculture,
under the direction of DIR. Mead and
his associates, 80 inches of water
or more are used in the majority OF
places in the irrigated section for
the production. of crops. Let us