Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1914-07-25
Suggestions Regarding Winter Wheat
Culture in the Eastern
United States.

Washington, ID. C.-There are few
0f tie older soils of this country on
which fertilizers, properly used, will
not yield a profit to wheat growers,
according to the Investigations Of
specialists in the United States De-
partment of Agriculture. Lime, nitro
gen, potassium, phosphorus and hu-
mus are all needed by wheat and one
or more of these substances is fire.
quently lacking in the soil of the re-
gions where winter-wheat is raised.
How this deficiency can best be
remedied is discussed in some detail
in Pulletin No. SOC, which the Depart
ment of Agriculture nas ,ust publish.
ed under the title of "The Culture of
Winter Wheat in the Eastern United
States" In the United States the
culture of winter wheat is confined
mciLiy to the districts east o. South
Dakota and line drawn sodthward
from the eastern boundary Of that
state. in this region, which includes
all of the southern and eastern states
except New England and parts Of
Oklahoma and Texas and all Of the
middle Vest except parts of Ne
braska and Kansas, the rainfall is
usually sufficient for crop needs
without resorting to special methods
of tillage. For this reason the con-
ditions governing the use of fertili-
Zers, the rotation of crops, seeding and
harvesting are sufficiently similar for
the suggestions in the bulletin to be
applicable throughout the entire area
OF the principal wheat foods, nitro
gen, the bulletin says, is obtained
mainly from the air through indirect
sources; that is, it is obtained by
growing such crops as clover, cow
peas and soy beans in rotation. These
crops put nitrogen into the soil on
which the wheat may feed later. Po-
tassium is usually present in the soil,
but needs to be made available for the
wheat by the decay of manure and
plant remains. Phosphorus must US
ually be supplied by the addition Of
bone meal, rock phosphate, or some
similar form of fertilizer.
The reason why manure is of such
benefit to soils is that it usually sup
plies a number of the foods that
wheat needs. 1t not only supplies
decaying organic matter, but also
nitrogen and potassium in consider
able amounts. AS a rule, it lacks only
phosphorus to supply almost every
need of the plant for balanced food
ration. To supply this one missing
element it is a good plan to add 40 or
90 pounds of acid phosphate, rock
phosphate, or basic Stag to each ton
of manure before hauling it to the
field. At least eight tons of this
treated manure should be applied once
in every four years to each acre OF
wheat-bearing soil.
Any green crops that are plowed
under will furnish green manures for
the soil. By their decay they make
available certain mineral elements al
ready in the soil, besides adding val
liable organic matter. Rye is very
good for this purpose. 1t is better,
however, not to use this crop alone
but in combination with legume such
as COW peas or soy beans.
When rotted manure is rot avail
able, green-manure crops must be
used to maintain certain elements In
the soil On comparatively few is
there enough stable or barnyard ma
nure to take the place of green ma
nures altogether, although by return
ing the plant remains to the soil less
of the green manure will need to be
grown than when no returns are
made.