Middletown transcript., 1917-04-14
USING FERTILIZERS
ON THE GRASS CROP

! - Fertilizers carry
.,,sa, =. ~ the three plant
-aa food constituents
of ammonia, phOS-
phoric acid and potash. Fertilizer may
be applied directly to the grass crop,
or to other crops in the rotation. The
effect differs only in degree.
Feeding the Previous Crop.
Wherever a short rotation is fol-
lowed, that is, grass once in every
three or four years, farmers have
found it profitable to fertilize grass
through the medium Of the preceding
crop. In Virginia, some growers put
an extra amount of fertilizer on the
tobacco crop, turn a profit from this
through increased yields, and still
further profit from the larger grass
crop which follows. Potato farmers
in Aroostook county, Maine, carry out
the same idea, using from 1,5OO to
1000 pounds Of fertilizer on potatoes,
and but little on the oats and grass
crops. Likewise the dairy farmers
in Massachusetts and Connecticut
have found, in a short rotation, that
the cheapest way to get good grass
crop is to fertilize heavily the crops
Immediately preceding. Experiment
station results show that these expe-
riences of practical farmers are sup
ported by the results of scientific
tests.
The Pennsylvania experiment sta
ton, on some of it's rotation plots,
seeds down the grass and clover with
the wheat crop. The wheat crop is
heavily fertilized, the grass crop is
not Over long period of years the
hay crop following the fertilized
wheat had yielded nearly ton high
er than the hay crop following unfer-
tilized wheat.
The Ohio experiment station is fol-
lowing five-year rotation-corn, oats,
wheat, grass and clover. The corn,
oats and wheat are fertilized; the
grass crop is not. AS a result Of
nearly 20 years work this station
of clover and 76O pounds of timothy
(second year hay) when sown in fer
tilted wheat as compared with the
same seed mixture when sown in un-
fortified wheat.
The Virginia experiment station
found in one case that 1000 pounds Of
complete fertilizer per acre applied to
tobacco, increased the succeeding hay
crop by more than two tons per acre,
and the year following gave still fur
ther increase of II bushels in the
corn crop.
Profitable Hay.
One of the best ways of getting a
large hay crop is to use a liberal
amount of plantfood on the money
crops, or the grain crops, in the rota-
ton. This plantfood may be either
manure or fertilizers-but should usu-
ally include both.
Fall Seeding Without Nurse Crop.
Where grass follows grass, or where
| a grain crop is not included in the ro-
| tation, fertilizer must be applied at
| the time of seeding down. Use 200 to
| 300 pounds per acre of fertilizer
| ,anaiyzing two to three per cent ammo-
| mia, eight to ten per cent phosphOric
| acid, and when possible four to five
| per cent potash. Clay soils require
| less potash than loans; sandy and
| clay soils more nitrogen. This formu-
! la furnishes nitrogen enough to start
| the crop, but leaves no surplus to be
| lost by teaching. 1t gets the mineral
! elements-pOtaSh and phosphoric acid
! so distributed through the soils as
| to be Of the greatest value, vet it is
! mot so costly as to be prohibitive
Larger quantities must be used, how
ever, when it is expected to keep the
field in grass for a number of years.
How and When to Top-Dress.
| Just as the grass is turning green in
the spring, apply fertilizer analyzing
from six to eight per cent available nj
| ftrogen and three to five per cent phos-
! phoric acid and as much potash as can
| Ibe economically purchased. On muck
soils more potash is necessary, and
on sandy soils more phosphoric acid.
| Amounts Profitable to Apply.
This fertilizer gives the grass a
good start, makes it grow rapidly dur
ing the season when there is plenty
of water available, and gives a worth
while increase in the crop. If hay
IS usually worth $40 to SIP ton in
the barn, 200 pounds of the above fer
ltilizer may be use2. II it is worth
SIS In the barn, 800 pounds gives a
higher acre profit. Finally, if the
| farmer is so located that his hay is
| worth $1S or over, he can well afford
to use 400 to 500 pounds of this fer
Filizer, and make the hay crop the
most profitable crop on his farm. 1t
Twill then give more dollars for less
labor than any other crop which he
can produce.
Permanent Mowinqs.
When land is cropped permanently
to grass, yields are usually lower than
I'm rotation mOwings. The field becomes
rootbound and fertility sometimes be-
comes so low that the crop is often not
worth the cutting. Weeds displace the
! grasses, and the quality of the crop