Arizona republican., 1913-11-22
INTERESTING HINIS
 FOR IRR|GATORS
Experiment Farm Head on North Platte Project Makes Some Rotations of Value to
 Farmers

Prof F. K Knorr who has charge i of the large demonstration farm. on the North Platte project in Nebraska furnishes the following helpful hints to irrigators which may prove val 1 uable to farmers on all projects. It is common fallacy among farmers that grains should well shade the ground before the first ir- rigation is attempted in order to prevent baking the soil. Professor Knorr's experiments have shown that whenever the soil shows that it is getting dry the crop should be irri- gated regardless of it's stage of growth Whenever the soil will not adhere in a lump when pressed in the hand, irrigation should be applied.
 The growth of corn should not be forced by early irrigation. Corn should Le planted in moist ground, which can be accomplished by irri- gating before planting. Thus planted it will generally carry through with out further irrigatiOnS until it tassels and silks. After that one or two irrigations is usually sufficient to ma ture the crop in good shape.
 Barley should never be allowed to get dry because it is a crop which shows the effect of drOuth more quickly and because it has less pow CT to recover than any of the small grains, it should be carefully watch ed for indications of lack of mOis ture.
 While wheat and oats will stand more drouth than barley, both should be watered when needed. Oats will recover more from drouth than any other crop. Care should be exercised to prevent leaving water the same ground for any considerable length of time. Experiments show that after water has run in a furrOW one and half hours it will soak down to the subsoil. Running water for six hours in the same furrow usually does no more good than a run of one and a half hours but in creases the subsoil moisture, aug menting the seepage supply and the damages resulting therefrom.
 Potatoes grow best in soil which is kept moist An interesting experi- ment with early Ohio potatoes was as follows: One plot of ground was watered three times during the sea son at such intervals that the land neeOeO water IdliitI bchlN te'NAi tAAiiN before irrigation was applied. The second plot was kept continually in a moist condition. On Plot No. l the yield was 14O bushels per acre mar ketabIe potatoes and so per cent of the crop was marketable. Plot No gave 175 bushels per acre and II per cent were culls.
 For sugar beets excessive irrigation is certain to produce large tops and small beets Careful and regular ir- rigation produced two tons per acre more than was grown on over irri- gated land.
 In alfalfa growing Professor knorr experimented on different plots with 3. 4. , and irrigations. The last two plots yielded 2-10 tons less alfal- ia per acre than the others. A com parison of yields cut 3 and times showed that the latter yielded 9-1O tons per acre while 3 cuttings pro duced 6-1O tons. He concludes that three cuttings give not only more ton mage but also a better quality of hay.
 He finds that it is not advisable to crop alfalfa beyind Q year period as the roots become so heavy they will not rot on the ground, making the cultivation more difficult and causing a loss in fertility to the soil In turning under alfalfa he recom- mends shallow blowing.