The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1928-05-03
ALFALFA REQUIRES
SEED INCUBATION
Soil Must Be Rich in Lime to
Get the Very Best
Results
PAYS BIG DIVIDENDS
Development of Yellow Spots
in Field Sure Sign that
Soil Contains Acid
(By Charles r. Hutcheson)

ia! Why is it that alfalfa will not
thrive on any old soil? Why does
alfalfa turn yellow on many fields =?
1t is protein that we want alfalfa
for and it takes a lot of nitrogen
to make the protein in alfalfa hay.
Nitrogen is our most expensive of
the three important plant food ele-
ments, phosphates, potash and nj
trogen. The latter is the one that
Is the quickest and first to become
exhausted in our soil. 1t takes
about $50. 90 worth of soluble nj
trogen to make the protein in six
tons of alfalfa.
Just think of it, $4,000 worth !
Now, why rob the soil of this
amount of the most expensive fer
tility element, when your alfalfa
plants can get this nitrogen from
the air if they are properly equip
ped with these little fertilizing
factories (called nodules). They
are filled with little bacteria that
have the mysterious power of
taking insoluble nitrogen from the
air, changing it from the insoluble
form to la soluble, disable form so
the little alfalfa plants can use it
to make the protein in the alfalfa
hay.
Isn't that plain enough?
"Well yes! And not" says the
man who never grew alfalfa be-
fore.
First of all you must have a
high lime soil-or must apply lime
to acid soils-this will be covered
thoroughly later in this article.
Next, the seed or soil must be
inoculated with these little nitro
gen bacteria. There are the two
ways-frst, by using dirt from an
old alfalfa field that you know was
well inoculated, or by the use of
commercial inoculant that you can
secure at your seed store or from
the U. IS. Department of Agricul-
ture at Washington (they will sup
ply enough for a bushel of seed)
If sweet clover grew on the land
before and the seed was inoculat-
ed, nodules formed on the roots
where it grew successfully, and
then your soil has been inoculated.
However, you can not inoculate
any soil in any of these ways UNI
less it is rich in lime or you have
applied lime to your field alfalfa or
sweet clover is to be sown. So lime
is really the secret of successful al
falfa-then use plenty of lnocula-
ton to bring about the real work
of nature in this wonder crop,
Alfalfa has another very valu-
able element in it that makes the
high lime soil essential. That al
falfa is richer in minerals than
any other pasture or forage crop,
is a long established fact. In every
ton of alfalfa there is practically
40 mounds of lime. If there is no
lime in your soil, how can you
grow a crop of alfalfa on 1T when
there must be about 40 pounds OF
lime in each ton of hay? :,
Alfalfa must have a lime soil
for two reasons. First, there must
be sufficient lime in it so the roots
can get enough to supply the neces-
sary 40 pounds to go into the hay.
Second, there must be enough lime
in the top foot to Is inches of soil
to keep the soil sweet SO the little
bacteria can live and form nodu!es
(nitrate fertilizer factories) on the
roots of these alfalfa plants so as
to manufacture the necessary sol
uble nitrogen needed to make the
protein in the alfalfa hay.
West Has Plenty of Lime
California was the first state to
grow alfalfa successfully and COM
mercially in the United States. 1t
SO happens that the land they are
using to grow alfalfa on in Cali
fornia is high in lime. Of the sew
eral hundred tests made of their
soil. it shows an average of over
2.25 per cent lime. In fact, in all
(f,ontinued on Page Four)