The Dickinson press., 1912-07-20
REGULATION FOR ALFALFA
FACTS that need STUDY
PLANTS DEMAND FOOD

PLAINS DEMAND FLUID
All of our agricultural plants are
rooted in the soil and from the soil they
take certain foods. Among these is a
food containing nitrogen. Nitrogen is
very often taken--up by the plant in the
form of a nitrate. Sodium nitrate OF
Chilli saltpetre, for instance, is COM
posed in part of the nitric acid radical
combined with sodium. We commonly
speak Of plants needing nitrogen or nj
rates as a food. Our agricultural plants
do not take in raw nitrogen as a food,
but as stated, generally take it in in
form Of nitrates.
THE RELATION OF ALFALFA TO nj.
TROGEN
The alfalfa plant, with other leeumes,
is no exception in demanding nitrogen
as a food in a combined form. Prob
ably ages ago the alfalfa plant, l am
using a~lfalfa.as-a type of the legumes,
behaved as the corn or wheat plant in
taking..its nitrogen from salts found in
the soil. By some remarkable accident
it % happened. that certain bacteria
came to associate themselves with the
leguminous plants, including alfalfa.
Whatever the past history may have
been, the fact-is now that these remark
able bacteria enter the roots of the
alfalfa plant. and this entrance causes
the alfalfa plant to start a peculiar
growth. These arowths are known as
"nodules." Each nodule is a house or
home for countless numbers of bacteria.
WHAT THE ALFALFA BACTERIA DO
The alfalfa bacteria or the bacteria
of any legume, such as peas, beans or
clover. lead a life of their own. These
remarkable bacteria have the power of
taking the raw nitrogen or the elemental
nitrogen from the air of the soil and
combining it so as to form nitrates.
The alfalfa plant makes use of the nj
trates formed by the bacteria, al food.
The corn plant depends for the nitrates
to be used as its food, that happen to be
in the soil. The alfalfa plant depends
for its nitrates upon those manufactured
in the nodules of its roots. The alfalfa
plant and the bacteria help each other.
The alfalfa furnishes a house and some
food for the bacteria and the bacteria
furnishes heterogeneous food for the al
falfa.
CAN ALFALFA LIVE ALONE?
Is it possible for the alfalfa to live
without these bacteria? In ordinary
soil the alfalfa plant. and this includes
any ordinary leeume, can live for a con-
siderable period if the nodules of the
bacteria are not present on its roots.
An alfalfa plant under such a condition
will not thrive, it does not have the
vigorous growth and the leaves and
stems are yellowish in color. Such
plants are much more apt to succumb
because of drouth OF cold weather. The
yields from uninoculated plants are
very light when grown on ordinary soil.
If alfalfa is grown in soil very rich in
nitrates- in a soil that contains an
abundance of organic matter and humus.
the alfalfa can live with success in
such a soil without incubation for per
haps 2 or 3 years. Soon, however, the
alfalfa becomes unthrifty and yellowisE.
But if the rich soil is supplied abund-
| antly with manure and with purchased
nitrates as fertilizers. it might be pos
| sible to grow the alfalfa with more OF
less success without incubation. This
is not, however, a normal way for the
alfalfa to live. regarding the bacteria.
The bacteria living in the various
kinds of legumes belong to the SAM
| species; they are the same kind. ir
| other words. But the bacteria thaI
thrive in the nodules of the alfalfe
plant will not live. apparently, in thu
nodules of the clover plant. The bac'
terra of the nodules of our native
leeumes are apparently of no value fol
alfalfa. Evidently the bacteria of The
common red clover nodules can be uti'
lized by the white or the alsyke clover.
Professor Hopkins has shown that the
bacteria that live in the nedules Of
sweet clover will readily inoculate and
form nodules upon the alfalfa plant.
Sweet clover soil, therefore. can be used
to ~inoculate land intended for alta liza.
DOES OUR LAND NEED INOCULA-
TON?
We must distinguish between bottom
lands and uplands. Further we must
distinguish between the absolute need
Of incubation and economic need Of in.
oculation. We know Of certain in
stances in the state where alfalfa has
been sown without artificial inecula-
tion and the alfalfa crop has been 9
success. This has been sufficient evil
dence to some that the talk Of the need
of incubation is more or less nonsense.
Those that put out alfalfa. generally