The Butler weekly times., 1914-04-30
S!t,,:,,:. .L3)tt A|.,Y [EaTILRiNC.
EEoEHiaEsiTS AT UNIVERSITY
CT; ..t-5oJ2i sHoN ePHoS-
a#:c-u5 INCREASES Der.
IN WELD.
Cy j.. c. W1it-en, Prcfescor Of Horti.
el.-sfs, Cousge Of Agriculture, ;.
---Univeesiiy OF Missouri.
IN .iELp.


For the last seven years the agr
cultl!ai ,expt :in.ent station of tn
UpiE isily Ci =. .sJouri, al Columbia
has been conducting Investigation
upon tie effect OF different teItil.zer
on strawberry plantations. The thre
esse ntial pant food elements whicl
were applied were nitrogen. phos
phorUs and potas ssium. These are tn,
. Only tarea pant lood elements which
ii is necessary to supply in keepin:
up sol! fertility. They were applied
s.ng.y. in combinations of two ele
mems and in combinations OF al
three eienents.
Yields OF fertilized plots were com
pared with corresponding areas in the
sa'na field where no fertilizer was ap
piled. 1t was thought that the addi
lioa OF fertilizer containing nitro
gen would be most likely to give ia.
voraDle results because nitrogen
seemed to be exhausted somewhat
quickly from most of the soils in the
commercial strawberry-growing dis
trlcts; because where fertilizer ex.
perlments on strawberries have pre-.
viously been conducted results have
generally shown an increased yield
food element which generally quickly
stimulates better plant growth or Wig.
orous leaf and plant formation on any
agricultural plant. The strawberry
grower knows that in order to get a
large yield it is necessary to get
good stand of plants Ordinarily,
where he gets the best stand of plants
he looks for the best crop.
Nitrogen was applied to certain
plots in the form of nitrate of soda,
dried blood or cottonseed meal Wher
ever nitrogen in any form was applied
singy, or in combination with either
potash or phosphorus, the yield was
actually reduced
The most important reason for this
Is that wherever nitrogen was applied, |
although the plant growth was bet
ter, the plants began to make runners
too quickly and too abundantly dur
ing the fruitng season. AS soon as
the plants began to make runners
they began to cease making flowers
and truit. The first early picking of
stra wberries was usually good. but
with immediate runner formation
there WAS no succession OF later bios.
SONS to proong the fruiting of the
patch AS soon as runner formation
got we'll started fruit production
ceased and there was very short
early.season crop. This was particu-
larly true during each spring, when
there happened to be frosts which de-
stroyed the early blossoms.
On plots not fertilized with nitro
gen, if the early blossoms were frozen
off later blossoms usually continued
to be produced and fair yield was
eventually obtained, even though it
was usually later than the crop pro-
duced when there were no spring
fyosts. Wherever the early blossoms
were killed off on nitrogen-fertilized
plots, very few late flowers formed,
but the plants ran to runner growth
rather than late blossom production.
This was true whether nitrogen was
applied in early spring. just before
the fruit crop began to be produced,
or whether it was applied the pre-
vous season. when the plants were
growing TO get ready for the follow
ing spring fruit.
Troublesome weeds have been
much worse In plots where nitrogen
was applied. This was especially true
where barnyard manure was put on.
1t made weed growth worse during
the season of cultivation. Patches
were more nearly filled with weeds In
autumn. after cultivation ceased, and
the fruit plantation produced weeds
much more abundantly in spring, to
out the crop before and dur
Ing the ripening of the fruit.
The application Of potash, fertilizer
In the form of muriate OF potash or
sulphate Of potash gave negative re-
suits. Crops were neither increased
nor decreased in Missouri soils by the
application Of potash alone. II
The application Of phosphorus has
given very gratifying results Last
rear the average yield Of plots fer
tilized with phosphorus (provided nj.
trogen was not applied on the same
Dlot) amounted to an increase of S43
In acre. above the yield of plots
which had no phosphorus applied.
4 The best way to apply phosphorus
IN old.bearing plantations is to scat.
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