Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1912-03-07
The Use Of Water by
Small Grain Crops.
What Experiments in North
Dakota Have Shown.

In the first place let US give a. mo-.
ment's attention to the yields of wheat
In North Dakota. We may consider
wheat a standard crop. Taking the
United States as a whole we find that
the average yield of wheat per acre
has been steadily increasing since
1866. For the ten-year periods the
yields are as followss
From 1885 to 1875, 11.9 bushels per
acre; 1S76-18S5, 1913; 18S6-1895, 1877;
1896-1905, 1876: %1906-1909, 14.8.
It is not necessary to go into analy-
sis of these figures to determine why
the yields have been increased. Fer
our purpose the fact of an increase is
sufficient for the argument.
Taking the figures of North Dakota
alone We lind different conditions. No
data are available before 1886. Since
that time the yields of North Dakota
have been as follows:
From 1886 to 1895, 14.5 bushels per
acre; %1896-1905, 1872; %1906-1909, 12.1.
Instead OF a continual increase, which
obtained w the entire country, we
have a steady decrease. Note that our
figures do not include the bad years
of 1910 and 1911.
If North Dakota is going to be sue
cessful from the standpoint of the
farm, one of two things is certain.
Its yields of wheat must be increased,
or the farmer must cut out wheat as
a staple crop. With the increased
land values the growing of wheat can
scarcely be held to be a profitable ven
ture. This is particularly true when
its uncertainty is taken into account,
due to storms, rust and drouth. The
causes of the decreasing yields are
many. 1t is nou an easy problem.
The plant doctor tells us that plant
diseases are continually increasing in
the soil upon wheated areas, and this
is true. The chemist tells us that the
fertility of Jul soil is decreasing; and
the soil physicist says that as the soil
becomes older humus is lost, the lack
OF which acts as a yield reducer. Prob
ably another cause of decreased yields
is the fact that the wheat area has
been steadily marching westward
through the state towards areas of
more deficient rainfall. And with this
western movement towards the light
er rainfall there have been no changes
In the methods of growing to comb at
the more semi-arid conditions.
Experiments at Dickinson.
Some of our work at Dickinson in
1911 indicates clearly what happens
when an effort is made to grow wheat
on soil without sufficient moisture,
and it also indicates what happens
when humid methods sre used for
semi-arid conditions.
Over practically all of North Dakota
water Is the principal factor that linn
its crop production. 1t takes water to
grow a wheat crop just as surely as
1t takes money to buy a suit of clothes.
This is a proposition that we cannot
get around. Strange to say the farm
ers of North Dakota do not realize the
absolute necessity of water in the
growing of crops. The man that irri-
gates has this story learned by heart,
so that he measures his crop in terms
of water. The North Dakotan meas
ures his crop in terms of acres, and
consequently his farming is very often
carried on at a loss.
At Dickinson in 1911 we had some
plats that were cultivated, others that
were not cultivated. Both Of these
grew wheat in 1910. We had still
others that were clearly summer fall
lowed in 1910. In the first two cases
there al no stored water in the soil
for the crop to depend upon. In the
case of the wheat on the summer fall
low the second, third, fourth and fifth
feet of soil contained stored moisture
ready to be drawn upon by the grow
ing crop of wheat.
How Water Is Measured.
It takes so many hundreds of tons
of water to grow a ton of dry crop.
Part of this water passes through the
plant and is TRANSFERRED. The other
part passes from the soil directly and
is evaporated. For all practical pur-
poses both of these parts are required
by the crop. Under field conditions
we cannot get rid of the loss of water
by evaporation.
1t requires from 600 to 900 tons Of
water to grow n ton Of crop under
favorable conditions. When water is
stored In the soil so that the plant