The Maui news. [volume] (Wailuku, Maui, H.I.) 1900-current, 1921-09-27
Agriculture
(By J. f. O'Brien)

Chemical analysis will tell the
amount of plant food in the soil. 1t
will not tell the availability of the
plant food, how much of it the plant
can use, or the amount of fertilizer
necessary. That can only be deter
mined by actual field test, and so far
as Maui is concerned, Professor
Krauss has no doubt worked out
every conceivable application of COM
mercial fertilizers, and the results of
his work can be obtained through the
Department of Agriculture in Homo
lulu. Chemical changes are going on
constantly in the soil. Oxygen pro-
duces decay or slow combustion.
Acids and alkalis also cause changes.
Cultivation produces chemical changes
and bacteria are responsible in a great
measure. These chemical changes are
extremely important, as they liberate
plant food, dissolve unavailable plant
food compounds and convert them
into a form that the plant can feed
upon. 1t is possible to exhaust the
plant food in the soil, making it i'm
possible to grow certain crops, and
successful farming is simply knowing
how to keep cropping the land and at
~ 'beAiiS INV illNl VClolllS llloltdu vi
reducing it's fertility. Here is where
the bacteria help us out. Bacteria,
often referred to as germs, microbes
or parasites, are small plants like
yeast or mold. They are so minute
that it is necessary to magnify them
400 times or more in order to see
them. In shape these one-celled or
ganisms are represented chiefly by
turn funnc YnI cho nod orJ ,D,,oI D.
production is by division, also by for
nation of spores. By the first. method
the bacteria elongate, divide near the
middle, and form two. With proper
food, temperature, moisture and alb
n of sunlight one single bacteria
may bring countless millions in "a
hours. When conditions are unfavor-
able the bacteria cease to multiply
and form spores corresponding TO the
seed of a flower or a grain. In this
state they lie dormant indefinitely.
The surface soil is the home of the
bacteria. In a spoonful of soil there
may be many millions, some helpful,
some destructive. We must learn bow
to help and increase those that help
us, and destroy those that are de-
structive. We know that the growth
and development of the beneficial
bacteria depend largely upon the sup
ply of organic and vegetable matter
in the soil, and upon its proper crea-
ton or cultivation. OF course, if the
beneficial bacteria are not in the soil,
they must be supplied by the farmer,
either through incubation of the soil
or seed, otherwise the crop will not
be a success. The nitrogen gathering
bacteria must have humus in the soil
in order to thrive and do their work.
They live in the humus, and in re-
turn they take nitrogen from the air
and store it in the nodules or little
balls that may be seen on the roots
of legumes like peas, beans, alfalfa,
clovers and all plants distinguishable
by their thefoil leaf, including many
trees, shrubs and weeds. 1t is a mis-
take, however, to think that by plant
ing a legume crop like peas or beans
we can without fail put the nitrogen
in the soil. If the bacteria are al
ready in the soil or on the seed, the
planting of the legume will greatly
increase the bacteria, but if not al
ready in the soil or on the seed, then
the legume will take humus out of the
soil without giving any nitrogen. If
we do not know whether the bacteria
are in the soil or not, it is always
safer to i%noculate the seed. The cost
for i~noculating seed for an acre of
most legumes is only about 81, and
the bacteria can be had from all large
seed houses. 1t is better to inoculate
anyway, especially when we know
that an acre of legumes will take up
to $40 worth of nitrogen from the air.
Hitherto it had been thought that
while the legume was alive the nitro.
gen stored in the nodules on its roots
was not available, but very recent
tests with grain crops planted to-
gether with legumes showed a greatly
increased crop Over the portion not