The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1911-07-20
ROTATE The CROPS.
BY Z. T. ladd, North Dakota
State Chemist. w

If you would keep the soils in the
best chemical and physical condition,
there must be practiced such q sys-
tenn of rotation that there shall be in
cluded in the rotation humus produc-
ing and humus consuming crops.
Two humus producing, to three hu.
mus consuming crops should, with
proper cultivation, maintain the soil
n its highest state of productivity.
Soils fertile by nature, such az the
Red River valley soil, should, under
system of agriculture, as indicated
above, yield good crops, without the
aid Of commercial fertilizers for a
thousand years. This assumes the
proper use of all barn manures. And
the prevention of unnecessary loss
from the soil.
A proper system of crop rotation
should result in enriching the surface
soil with plant food rather than in
depicting it, and especially should
this be true for nitrogen and humus.
The first foot of soil in the Red
River valley contains enough plant
food for at least 1,4OO maximum crops,
without drawing upon the supply of
food material in the second foot or
below
The continuous growing of wheat, or
other grains, or cultivated crop, rapid
ly dspletes the organic matter from
the second six inches of soil.
The growing of clover and peas In
crop rotation causes a marked in
crease in the organic matter and hui
mus In the soil, in both the first and
second six inches. These plants are
also nitrogen accumulators.
Land in crop rotation on which corn
was Drown in 1899, and wheat was
grown in 1900, showed more than
twice as much water in the first six
inches, on July 14th, as found in soil
continuously in wheat In the second
six inches there was GO per cent more
water. The yield of wheat was more
than seven times as great. e..
On July IA the field on which corn
had been grown the preceding year,
contained 80 per cent more Enitrates
than for the continuous wheat field
On July 80, the difference was even
more marked, being 81 per cent more
of nitrates. :.
Nitrifying bacteria in bare summer
"fallow7 we're not found in the son be-
low two sfeet; probably not below
eighteen inches. c: - - - s-=. y
ID, Nitratas were foundS in greater
abundance at depth of seysn1feet
than, at a. depth of one foot. a-tE
For every pound of nitrogen re-
moved from the soil by wheat We
have lost from four to six pounds by
other ways, where wheat has Been
grown continuously. - ~shS@
Soils on which wheat has been
grown continuously since 1883, are
found to be in bad condition, chem
ically and physically. They do not
retain water we'll in the cultivated
portion, and failed to mature q crop
of wheat in the dry season Of 1900.
The available plant food and the
principal feeding ground Of the wheat
roots seems to be in the first eight
inches of soil.
A soil may contain . good supply
Of available plant food in the first
eight or ten inches, and enough wa
ter lower down, but within reach of
the wheat roots, and yet fail to pro-
duce crop.
Flowing under green crop does
not produce as beneficial results as
come from blowing grass lands. Plew-
ing under green crop leaves the or.
ganic matter in mass and not uni.
fornly distributed throughout the
soil. -...-...s. u. ,-. ~.E
After grass in crop rotation, the
soil shows large increase in amount
OF organic matter but less than two
thirds as much as is found in adjoin-
ing fields Of native prairie soil.
Soils filed with a mass of grass
roots furnish, in all parts Of the soil,
a uniform supply of organic matter,
which by gradual decay, furnishes the
soil humus. This humus, rsacting UP
on the mineral constituents of the
soh, seems to aid in libesating and
rendering available this plant food.
Newly broken soils do not blow. It
is only after they have been cropped
for series of years, that sells begin
to blow badly.
The great mass Of fine roots inter.
twined about the particles of soil in
the virgin prairie prevented the soil
from blowing This mass Of roots
acted a. pins to hold the soil in place.
The decay of these roots removes the
binding agents and permits of blow.
ing. This u quite common on Lands
not we'll cultivated and in wheat con.
tinuously.
Adopting system Of rotation which
includes grass, will prevent the blow
Ing by again returning to the soil the
binding agents, the fne grass roots
which serve as pins to hold the soil