The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1924-02-16
HANDLING OF
CLOVER FIELDS
DISCUSSED
Expert at Agricultural College
Gets Many Requests
From Farmers
WALSTER GIVES ADVICE

Fargo, n. b., Feb. l6.-iandIing Of
sweet clover fields that went 20 seed
last year is the subject of many IN
qurics received by Dr.. H. l.. Wal
stcr, agrCnOmist OF the North Da-
kota Agricultural experiment station.
A Red river valley farmer writes:
Il seeded biennial sweet clover in
my grain i'm 1922. In 1923 we had
more sweet clover than we could
handle so let part of it go to seed bat
did not have time to cut the crop
Dead stems now cover the field like
lot OF brush. How shall we handle
the field this year? Is il all right
t. burn off the trash? Will burning
Kill the sweet clover seeds? Would
it be Il good plan to disc and seed to
grain or flax after burning off the
trash? Which are the best crops to
put in this field in 1924 q
Fields covered with so much
trash are not easily plowcd, de-
clares Mr. Walstcr Even if time
and labor are put into buryinE so
much trash it would not be good
plan because the great quantity Of
trash would prevent close contact
between the plowed layer and the
subsoil, thus bringing about condi-
ton favorable to drOuth injury in
dry seasons.
Wait until 4 dry day in the very
early spring after the snow is gone
out of the sweet clover brush, and
with the wind in Il favorable quar-
ter, burn off the trash. II the stand
is not uniform and if the fire does
not carry well it may be better TO
drag or roll down the coarse trash
by hitching teams to each end of a
railroad rail, and dragging this
across the field. After dragging
down the trash burn it. Most Of the
valuable soil fertilizing constituents
in the old stalks will have leachad
down out of them into the ground
before spring, so that the actual
loss Of fertility by burning will not
be IS great rs might appear at first
thought.
Burning Doee Not Kill All Seeds
Burning over the field in this
clover seeds that have fallen to the
ground, but so many will be in either
damp soil or partly buried that
the heat will not affect them. Some
of the seeds will, probably terminate
early in the spring of 1924. Those
that do terminate in the spring Of
1924 may, of course, be killed out
by late spring plowing. Ii the seed
sowed in 1922 carried any hard seed,
&c ynl1 hat hn al
some plants that started their growth
from the seed in 1928; such plants
can only be killed out by rather late
spring blowing after growth of from
four to six inches bud st"r;ed Frn~1
their winter buds. The winter buds
are just under the ground at the
top of the root Of the yearling plants. !
When Can Plants BE Killed?
If the grower will learn certain
habits OF the sweet clover he can
tell how to handle n given field
Sweet clover seed is hard, therefore
not all Of the seed that skaters off
will terminate the first year. A GER
tain fraction of the hard seed lying
in the ground will terminate each
year in proportion as conditions are
favorable so that the seed coats soft
en- enough to permit the entrance of
water Present evidence indicates
that hard seed may stay in the
ground longer than six years; in fact
it would not be surprising to find
hard seed after double that length of
time. Fortunately the fraction of
seed that does germinate each year
terminates fairly early, and then no
more terminates until the next year
Late spring blowing will dispose of
any young plants just starting from
the seed.
In late July or August the seed
ling sweet clover begins to think
about the long winter sleep ahead of
it. 1t gets ready for this winter
sleep at this comparatively early
time by forming winter buds, just
under the ground near the top of
the tap root. Fall blowing after this