Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1921-07-15

was grown in rotation.
Continuous cropping of both spring
and winter wheat materially de-
creased the average yield during the
second 10 year period.
Spring blowing for spring wheat
/ produced an average OF 30 bushels
more per acre than fall blowing for
spring wheat. Usually it is desir-
able, however, to pillow as much land
in the fall as possible in order to in
sure early spring seeding.
The depth of spring blowing has
but little influence on the yield OF
/ spring wheat
Field No. and pa contain sweet
clover, that in the former having
been planted April 80 to May 8,
+ 1921, and that in pa year previous
Field pa also contains strips of yell
low blossom sweet clover, white bios
som sweet clover and alfalfa, as well
as strip of winter wheat planted
in the spring of 1920. Field A CON
tains corn and sunflowers for silage
Field &C contains two varieties of
peas seeded at 90 pounds per acre,
Bengalia and Alaska. A patch of
bluestem wheat in the field was
planted April 6, at 6S pounds per
acre, The entire field was in wheat
last year.
The forage nursery, next visited
contains 107 varieties and selections
Of alfalfa, 80 varieties and selections
of sweet clover, sc of red clover, be-
sides many selections of other Glow
ers, peas, beans and grasses. These
varieties are being grown in small
plots where their hardness, adapti-
bility and yield may be compared
Vast Cereal Nursery
The cereal nursery is cropped in
a rotation of corn peas and small
grain. The small grain is represent
ed by the small grain breeding field
and contains 382S individual rows
These include variety tests and
breeding experiments and many
new varieties are produced by
hybridization and grown on
this field. The work of pro-
ducing a new variety must con
tinue over a series of years and a
large number of plots are required
in order to have sufficient number to
obtain the desired combination of
characters of the parent varieties
The three year rotation practiced in
this field is necessary to eliminate
volunteer plants and prepare the
field for the breeding work.
The rotation field contains 22 diff
ferent rotations and As separate
plots. The rotation, winter wheat,
spring grain and summer fallow,
which is commonly used in the Pa
louise, is given a place in this field,
with numerous notifications of this
rotation, substituting various other
crops. This field was established and
plotted in 1917, but the actual rota-
ton did not begin until 1919. Com
pairing the rotations winter wheat al
ternating with summer fallow, winter
wheat alternating with peas and win
ter wheat alternating with corn it
is found that in 1920 the summer
fallowed plot produced A. bushels,
the field pea plot produced 80 bush
els and the corn plot % bushels.
!. 1t was explained, however, that
the. summer fallow method was the
most expensive in the long run by
the loss on the fallow year crop and
the robbing of the soil the summer
, fallow method being at best a prac-
tice to make available all the plant
! food of the soil as quickly as
= poverished condition, hard to work,
susceptible to washing and ulti-
mately unfit for production. The
, alternating with legume crops, on
the other hand, gives a crop every
! year and improves the soil, main
tanning its fertility indefinitely and
, avoiding the dangers that the sum-
, mer fallow method is sure to bring.
In the discussion it was brought out
that probably the most practicable
; rotation was to plant alfalfa with
peas as a nurse crop. thus getting a
good crop Of hay the first year, and
after the three succeeding years of
alfalfa TO follow with four success
sive years of wheat. this method hav-
ing been tried and proved success
full. 1t was stated that many farm
ers are able to plant wheat the year
after breaking up the alfalfa field
and by careful preparation of the
soil avoid burning altogether.
There are as many plots devoted to
,otation thosp are prOpg in