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Show ATOMS AND AGRICULTURE AGRICULTUREBsotoDe To Farm Sncome Income Not only did dld the atomic bomb explosions ex exploSIODS explosions ploSIODS plosions at Hiroshima and Nagasaki Nagasakireveal Nagasakireveal Nagasakireveal reveal the presence ot of a new and andterrible andternbe ternbe terrible ] war weapon but they also alsomay alsomay alsomay may have ushered in an era of ofgreater ofgreater ofgreater greater lorthe forthe progress and prosperity for the American farmerResearchers farmerResearchers farmer farmerResearchers Researchers at Oregon State col lege college In Corvallls Corvallis currently are con ductlng ducting conducting conductlng experiments which beUeve believe they be lieve Ueve may add million millIons , of dollars worth dollarsworth of produce to the nation YIeld sYIeld ayield nationyield in agricultural s a * products productsl productsKey Key 10 to that "P3"13'11 P31311 expanded " " ' production is l Productionis . the radioactive , isotope a by pi od oduct uct of nuclear beIng belug fission which Is ( s be ing lug used In experiments reachinto that reach into every field of natural naturalscience science ' scienceBut But at aP , a . * Oreson OreltCUl Oregon State college aOllege and - I IWashIngton Washington State college at Pull Pullman Pullman Pullman man major experimental experunental emphasIs emphasisIs Is placed on agrIcultureInvestIgatIon agricultureInvestigation agriculture agricultureInvestigation Investigation of the application appl1cation of ofthe ofthe ofthe the atom to agriculture has been beengIven beengiven beengiven gIven impetus by the estimate of ofW ofWilliam ofWilliam W William ham W Waymack member of ofthe ofthe ofthe the atomic energy commission and andDes andDes andDes Des Momes Moines Iowa newspaper pub pubUsher pubUsher pubUsher Usher that radioactive Isotopes may maybe maybe maybe be instrumental m In increasing farm farmproduction farmproduction farmproduction production m in the U S by 240 mil million ml million ] lion . dollars in one year Over a pe perIod penod penod rIod nod of 10 years such an mcrease increase mcreasewould increasewould increasewould would pay tor for the two b billion hon do do'lar dolar ' lara spent on developing atomic atomicenergy atomicenergy atomicenergy energy during durmg the warVdlue warVelue war warV V Vdlue Velue < lue of the Isotope to agricultural agricultural agricul agricultural tural research is similar to that mother m in other fields of research Its radio radioactIvity radioactivity radioactivity actIvity permits its use as a tracer tracerthrough tracerthrough tracerthrough through the organisms orgamsms of plants and andanImals andanimals andanimals anImals Applied in fertilizers to the thesolI thesoil thesoil solI soil its progress can be traced In Inthe inthe inthe the living plant providing a me- me medlum medium me medium - - dium dlum for the understanding of plant plantlIfe plantlife plantlife lIfe and nutrition nevel never before ava avail available available availableSeveral able ableSeveral Several Isotopes are being used usedto usedto usedto to study soil solI chemistry of potash potashm potashIn In the hope of finding more effec effectlve effective eflective tlve tive ways of furnishing nutrition to tocrops tocrops tocrops crops Another Is being beltlg utilised utilIzed to tostudy tostudy tostudy study the effects of application of oflime oflime oflime lime to the SI soil ) Still other areas of ofr ofresearch ofresearch r research search may yield important importantknowledge importantknowledge Importantknowledge knowledge on absorption by gram grain gramof grainof grainof of phosphate and chlorine cl orIne from rom ! theearth the theearth theearth earth , |