Show 0 0 dve by W if 11 OLIN diversified 1111 0 i v e r s i r ie crops croli aks director of abric agric 0 tural extension Ex enton THE importance OF CROP ROTATION FOR of THE irrigation FARMER idaho line aton train lecture basle basis of success tho the ba basis sis of farm success la Is organization iza tion system on tho the farm tile the basla basis of organization on oil the farm 1 Is crop management on oil the successful management of tho the crop largely rest real those alvo fundamentals fundament ala 1 economy of business 2 2 maintenance of soil fertility 3 productivity of the soil 4 Subsist subsistence elice for livestock 6 5 farm fronts tit at end of season the term rotation of crops Is used to designate a system of crops which give a recurring succession lon of held field plants with differing plant food requisites reasons for rotation notation the primary purposes of a crop rotation are abt 1st prevention of crop sick soils the result of continuous cultivation of the same crop for a period of years 2nd and tho the elimination of weeds insect posts pests and crop diseases 3rd ard increase in ili tho the productivity of the field crops by conserving tile soil fertility first irrigated crop tho the first crop to bo be grown in any appreciable degree under tinder tho the ditch was wheat wheat followed wheat year after year on the river plain farms of utah and idaho until in some borne instances tho the yield of grain tell fell 25 and even GO 60 per cent below what it first gave the farmer this was on comparatively virgin soil which we think is IB rich as ag cream why la is this feeding at the same depth on the same plant food elements absorb the readily available plant food ot of this particular element so this class of plants Is then sparingly fed like a starved pig it cannot make its owner the profits the well fed ones do d 0 all plants do not feed alike they either use different foods or the same food from different depths therefore plants feeding at different depths of soil although they may use he same food elements the deeper ceding plants can follow the shallow feeders without serious immediate loss although eventually unless these absorbed food elements be restored e the A available val lable yant food will become exhausted hauked ex and the soil will therefore be impoverished the depositor who continues to draw his money from the bank with sut ut making deposits will at last find Is checks returned marked short no tank will permit continued coutino ed avei overdrafts we should not be taking off all the time without putting back the food ele elements m ento upon which plants feed some of the time if we do we have a crop sick soli soil that does not pay its checks nr for want of funds the available food elements that have haive been baen taken through previous withdrawals dra wals our utah and idaho soils are arc either of or volcanic rock formation these soils seem to hold an all abundance of potash a reasonable amount of phosphates a limited amount of nitrates abundance of lime but a great deficiency in organic matter commonly knova as humus here are the essentials wo we need in these soils they constitute the soil barometer since the lessened amount of any one of these will most seriously affect the general crop culture humus not only increases the water holding capacity of the soil boll but it also carries an appreciable amount of nitrates hence we need early in our cropping to get humus s in the soil feed the soil constantly that it may in turn feed our crops how may we do this HY by growing crops that tend to store what little humus we have with nitrogen while it increases afie humus content of the soil these are legume crops alfalfa beana peas alslee red clover and vetches detches constitute the legume family group which have proven profitable for us to grow in the west choose the one that Is best adapted to your farm environment and you feel will grow you the most dollars give it a permanent place in your field crops these plants saem to have the peculiar property of util utilizing liIng the free nitrogen of the air and thus store nitrates in the soil and accumulate humus the one thing our soils seem most to need how Is this done through a most peculiar little family ot of lower organisms known as bacteria which grow on the root hairs and tiny rootlets rootless root lets of the root system of these legume plants this cre creates afes As as it were a fever in that particular part of the plant calling for more air and more water in a chemical process not easily understood the tree free nitrogen obtained from tile the surrounding air Is worked into nitrates available to succeeding plant life perennial legumes aro are always deep feeders bringing a part of their mineral food from soil depths below the feeding ground of ordinary crops this value to succeeding crops Is shown in the opening paragraph to coburne Co burns alfalfa there are some 81 silent ilent sub bub sollers that to do their work with ease and in their way more effectually effectual lr than any team or plow ever hitched the clover plant is righteously famed as one of these but alfalfa Is its superior its roots work sunday as well as saturday oleat and day abe they y strike 5 10 15 or 20 feet deep making innumerable perforations while storing up nitrogen and when these roots decay the loave leave not only ft a generous supply 0 fertility for any desired crop but eln lions of openings into which the alra airs and rains ot of heaven find their way nna and help to constitute an unfailing reservoir air of wealth upon which tho the husbandman can donw with little tear fear of protest or overdrafts professor buffum somo some years ago at the wyoming experiment station made a test showing the gain on al falfa ground for small grain and po over the same battle type of soil where alfalfa was wag not grown ills his ro rc sulta suits obtained aro are hero here given wheat gain in ili bushel per aero acro 12 gain in ili value of harvested crop local prices 1000 oats gain in bushel per acre 41 gain in ili aero acre value of oc harvested crop local prices 1600 1 potatoes gain in bushel per acre 29 20 gain in acre value of harvested rop crop local prices 1600 i therefore get tho the land into a legume ume of some kind alfalfa vetch or field pea as soon as you can call that it may bo be better prepared ared for successful and profitable after crops in case the farmer fanner Is in doubt just what crop to put pu in ho he will make ny no mistake to seed down to alfalfa while he is planning out the crop rotation that his environment would seem beem to indicate best for him to adopt rotation destroys weeds the elimination of weeds la is effectually accomplished by tho the introduction of crops like po stock roots sugar beets field beans and truck gardening crops the irrigation ditch Is even a greater car rier of weeds than the winds choro an entire irrigation district adopts tho the practice of crop rotation and cutting datch and canal bank weeda they cani can be and are exterminated moat alost of off I 1 our worst weed pests aro are annual andl when all users of a given ditch f tice a good crop rotation od the weed Is IF solved I 1 G get a t 8 station 6 t I 1 0 r 8 U 1 to ta n a 1 J because olad aln insect well as base 60 h are re fully discussed in which edn can bo be had by addi addressing esling the director ati your your stale eifel experiment r ent station II 11 I 1 shall shalla pass up any discussion of them rotation fundamentals lot let us ua now consider the fundamentals we Cs should hould concern our belvis with ln in hd adopting opting si a rotation for our irrigated lands where ivI lero wo we cannot annot afford to grow many cheap forage or grass crops unless upon said farm wo we can convert these cheaper crops into more remunerative meat dairy or poultry products 1 all plants tend to exhaust tho the soil they abstract some one or moro more food elements to the full amount of availability 2 all plants do not exhaust the soil in the same way and manner equally 3 plants grown constantly or oon sinuously on the same field favor tho the spread of insect pests and certain plant diseases 4 some plants b by methods of 0 tillage ure favorable to weed growth while ahil e others are not 5 plants differ in habits of root growth G all legumes are soil builders ang and soil eoll renovators renova tors tois va 1 7 some form of stock combined with crop growing willau will furnish i r manure for making humus and building up the soil the old english adage no grass no cattle no cattle no manure no manure no grass Is true everywhere rotation on irrigated lands every rotation on the irrigated lands in this region should contains contain at least one money or cash crop 2nd and at least one cultivated crop 3rd ard at least one legume crop ath at least one live stock or feed ing crop ath these should bo be so BO grouped as aa to most economically distribute farm labor throughout the year ath su arrange the rotation that the farm can turn cheap and bulky feeds into milk poultry or meat pro ducts ath thus make factory methods on tho the farm turn ordinary waste pro ducts into profits i the meat packer so utilizes the calf lamb and pig that now there la Is nothing lost but the blat and the squeal the adoption of a definite crop rotation and the practice of factory methods on the farm will stop the leaks which now reduce the profits and tremendously improve the quality while it increases tile the quantity of the output of every farm in this district I 1 know an irrigated farm in tho the where the suggested method named above Is followed and tho the returns for the period of their crop rotation of six years which I 1 chocked checked up last year averaged gross per acre crop per season do not basat be sat isfried until you feel you have worked out a crop rotation adapted to your soil climate and market environment and that rotation Is averaging you a gross return of 50 per acre cr por season |