Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1912-07-18
Dy L. r. Waidron, Dickinson Sub
Statioo.
plants psmand Food.

PIantS emAoo Vooo.
All OF our agricultural plants are
rooted in the soil and from the soil
they take certain foods. Among these
10 q food containing nitrogen. Nitro.
gen Ia very often taken up by the
plant in the form OF q nitrate. S0di.
UNI nitrate or Chill saltpetre, for in.
stance. Is composed In part Of the
nitric acid radical combined with 30.
dunn. We commonly speak Of plants
needing nitrogen or nitrates as q
food. Our agricultural plants do not
take in raw nitrogen as a food, but
as stated, generally take 1t In the
form Of nitrates.
The Relation Of Alfalfa to Nitrogen.
The alfalfa plant, with other lie.
gumes. is no exception in demanding
nitrogen as a food In q combined
form. Probably ages ago the alfalfa
plant, | am using alfalfa 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 1t SO happened
that certain bacteria came to asso-
ciate themselves with the leguminous
plants, including alfalfa, Whatever
the past history may have been the
fact Is now that these remarkable
bacteria enter the roots of the alfal.
ia plant, and this entrance causes
the alfalfa plant to start a peculiar
growth. These growths 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 1t so as to
form ~nitrates. The alfalfa plant
makes use of the nitrates formed by
the bacteria, as 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 al
falfa plant and the bacteria help each
other. The alfalfa furnishes house
and some food for the bacteria and
the bacteria furnishes heterogeneous
food for the alfalfa.
Can Alfalfa Live Alone?
Is it possible for the alfalfa to live
without these bacteria? In ordinary
soil the alfalfa plant, and this in
cludes any ordinary legume, can live
for a considerable period If the nod
ules of the bacteria are not present
on it's roots. An alfalfa plant under
such conditions will not thrive, 1t
does not have the vigorous growth
and the leaves and stems are fellow
ish in color. Such plants are much
more apt to succumb because OF the
drouth or cold weather. The yields
from u~ninocu,ated 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 a live with. sue.
cess in such a soil without inocula.
ton for perhaps 2 or 8 years. Soon,
however, the alfalfa becomes unthrif-
ty and yellOwish. But II the rich
soil is supplied %abundantly with ma
nure and with purchased nitrates as
fertilizers it might be possible to
grow the alfalfa with more or less
ucce without incubation. This Is
not, however, a normal way for the