The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1917-03-20
SOIL INCUBATION
FOR LEGUME CROPS
NO NEED OF THIS STEP IN
REGIONS WHERE ALFALFA
GROWN CONTINUOUSLY
ACID SOIL DESTROYS BACTERIA
There Are Vs,lous Methods OF Iaoe.-
latIon in Vogue But Soil Trans.
fer Plan 10 the One Most
Widely Bnown.

Muoh 10 heard az this time of ysar
of incubation OF The soil for VARIOUS
legumlnous crops particularly sifSl'
ia. According to Prof NJ. A. Bee son
OF the Department of Agronomy u
Oklahoma A. q N College at Stsl !
watDr. incubation for alfalfa Is rsrs.
" found necessary ia central AID
west parts OF Oklahoma In some
sections Of Eastern Oklahoma, where
difficult has been experienced In
getting stand, inooula ion might be
advisable.
Frequently says Prof Besson.
complaint IS made that alfalfa will not
grow on certain land When put
through the litmus test this soil ia
often shown to be acid in nature.
incubation would do little good 10
a case OF this kind as the soil needs
lime. oklahoma soils, as rule are
not acid bu. his condition shows up
10 spots and gives rise to the theory
that alfalfa or other legumes cannot
be grown on them. Application OF
lime removes this difficulty.
The purposes and methods of soil
incubation tor eWminous crops are
explained by Prof Beeson as follows
Certain bacteria which grow upon
the roots Of legumes and which take
the free nitrogen of the soil r and
build il into compounds available fof
plant growth are necessary for ths
most successful production OF hh
class Of crops The Importance and
value Of legumes, to quite large de
gree, depends upon the presence OF
these bacteria
Usually on soils where certain
legumes such as alfalfa or oowpeAs
have been grown successfully for
some years the soil VIII be thorough
ly noculatad for that particular crop
and further incubation is unneces
sary. The wind will scatter bacteria
for long distances, hence when an
inoculated crop is introduced, the
soil in the whole neighborhood soon
becomes inoculated Where legumss
have not previously been grown and
wbero the soil is not inoculated, good
results will be secured by artihcially
furnishing the proper bacteria fot
each variety planted
"rhe bacteria which live upon The
roots Of different Iegumes are OF dit
ferent varieties aud each legume has
its own particular variety Bacteria
from oowpeas will not inoculate al
falfa. or peanuts However, the baS
teria which grow upon sweet clover.
bur clover and alfalfa are the same
'rhe simplest and cheapest meth
I'd Of inoculating the soil 10 to tsks
soil from a Held which has produced
successfully the crop which is to bs
planted About 200 to 400 pounds oi
this is sufficient to rOculate one aoTs
Good results usually follow whsn
this method is used. providing the
transferred soil is not exposed TO the
hot bright sun or allowed 10 dry out
before Il Is pread II is advisable Ia
spread the soil ON a cloudy day and
harrow ID Immediately after Il h
scattered and the transfer should b
made at or before the time the crop "a
to be lial'ed For alfalfa, get soil
from an old alfalfa field, for towpsai
get soil from an old oowpea field
There are two objections raised u
this method The first is the dansei
Of transferring diseases and weed
seeds, neither OF whit is very 30
rious. The second is tie fact ths,
this ystem is somewhat cumbersome;
yet it is cheap and certain.
Some companies manufacture pure
cultures for the purpose OF inoouatini
legumes. Each company furnishN
complete directions for handling thoh
products. When this method is foA
lowed, the usual cost is about s2W
per acre for the treatment. n pure
culture Of good quality are secured
they should be successful II properly
handled. However many Experiment.
Stations report that this method i,|
not as satisfactory as the soil transfer
system"