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Show Watch Out For Soil "Cure Alls By Dr. Paul Christensen Utah State University Extension Soil Conservationist Z7 ff . XI &&&&&& CT7 Z3 V "SERVING THE PEOPLE OF DELTA AND THE GREAT PAHVANT VALLEY" Be wary of soil and crop "cure alls." They're expensive and don't work. Fortunately, Utah field crops needs normally can be satisfied! with nitrogen and phosphate. Trace elements, iron and zinc are needed in some areas of the state. particularly on some fruit trees and 1 ornamentals. These require specific chemicals and treatments. Wholesale Whole-sale application of trace elements in fertilizer isn't recommended. Various' soil amendments, organic organ-ic products, and "soil conditioners" are frequently offered the farmer. They come and go with each season. sea-son. We; have investigated more than fifteen questionable products of this type in the past few years. How can you recognize such products pro-ducts of questionable value? Here are the main points to look for: 1. Promoters usually claim the product contains a secret, unknown un-known ingredient with almost magical powers. 2. They proclaim that their pro duct results come from a new ! ly discovered principle some "mysterious force" like mag-netismcatalytic mag-netismcatalytic action, enzymatic enzy-matic process, activation, or the like. The sales talk is often filled with scientific terms taken out of context. A scientist may be quoted to give the product a legitimate sound, but the statement is entirely out of context and uses half truths to . present a false story. Tests by experiment stations are played down as impractical impracti-cal or Dromoters sav the tro-! duct is so new that researchers research-ers have not had time to work on it. Often research people are described as biased and unwilling to work on the product. Testimonials occupy a major ' part of the sales program. (Remember, it's possible to obtain testimonials on almost any proauci.; The product is first sold to a '- - few reputable dealers and far- mers. They are "used" by the promoters to convey an idea of importance and value. (This technique has been used by unscrupulous persons for f ' years. J f: u Such products are seldom entirely worthless, but they are often worth very little, certainly no where near what they cost. Volume 53 Number 38 Thursday, March 21, 1963 Delta, Utah Copy 10c $4.00 a year in advance Millard County Chronicle Thursday, March 21, 1963 FARM FERTILIZER SECTION Suggestions for Local Increased Barley Yield By Clifford F. Merrell Field studies last summer showed show-ed that there are several factors i which had a very marked Influence 3. 6. Three Rules for Better Lawns . . By Dr. Paul Christensen Utah State University Extension Soil Conservationist Follow these three rules to get your perfect lawn: 1) apply the correct fertilizer at the right time, (2) set your mower at the correct height and (3) use water properly. Tests show nitrogen is' the fertl-l'zer fertl-l'zer Utah lawns need. Other chemicals chem-icals are common in most lawn soils. Adding phosphate or potash Increases lawn maintenance cost and usually isn't needed. Nitrogen is used in plant growth and is leached out by water. Since you irrigate lawns, it's important you replace nitrogen. To have healthy, dark green lawns apply nitrogen twice a year; early spring and late fall are ideal times. Ammonium nitrate is a good source for nitrogen. Apply it as directed. A thirty pound bag has the same amount of nitrogen as 2,000 pounds of manure. This points out that manure is our highest priced fertilizer when cost of labor and materials are considered. It's bulky to handle, may contain weed seeds, is messy, and straw residues often need raking after the manure is worked into the turf. On the other hand, a well rotted manure is an especially good soil builder for flowering plants and shrubs. They don't get organic return re-turn from the leaves as grass does in cutting. If you want clover, keep the phosphate content of your soil high. To do this add phosphate about once every 4 to 5 years. Remember, nitrogen is the lawns key need; most people prefer commercial fertilizers fer-tilizers but the important thing is to know what you're buying. Set your mower clipping height at 1 inches and clip often. This will allow good root development. The tops of grass feed the roots; the shorter the grass the shallower shallow-er the roots. Thus a grass length of inch means a shallow root system that will . need watering each day. By maintaining deeper root system that will need watering each day. By maintaining deeper roots your lawn will show vigor by retaaining moisture longer and won't need irrigating as often. Sprinkling or irrigating depends on weather conditions. In summer lawns require about inch of water wa-ter each day. The soil may affect watering frequency too. Some soils hold water better than others. Sand will hold i inch of water per foot of depth, loam will hold about 1 inches per foot of depth and clay about 2 inches per foot of depth. Remember, the root depth is important im-portant regardless of soil type. Sprinklers vary In efficiency. The . ..,.I.. v.WW. XWS v-vi ij Of 1 D k lq k. , ;j L Wj vi ? ) ! v i i rM f ( . :M: life. MlilMllM&wM S'il! flflV ' " t- !(Wp The farmer who uses fertilizer in the ::m fej l i I i;i t; V " j Vlllf.ii PPer amounts realizes the highest in- M I rlmWrii'l '; ' .ViWJMniB from his land. The successful SWi Rlil I1 Si it. mifWi I armer lshan.asset 10 hls commu",,y jmi Hil'F4SV !ttb f f !; "i because he is a prosperous neighbor V:l4 MM -i 7 !Hr "4f?'jand a good customer. . kf Kiti ?0- tl TrfiAI Proper fertilization means increased i'M f&M$m P tfWtim Proi,s for lhe 'armer and a healthy $M teMf Si economy ,or the - W Fertilize Your Rotation for More Profit By Dr. Paul Christensen Utah State University Extension Soil Conservationist Fertilizers furnish their greatest value in dollars returned to the producer when they are fitted into a well managed crop rotation plan. The following are some common rotation practices used in Utah and fertilizer recommendations to fit them. ALFALFA, CASH CHOP ROTATION Do you rotate alfalfa, small grain and cash crops? If so, the rule to follow is fertilize the cash crops to satisfy their needs. Cash crops usually require high levels of both nitrogen and phosphate. If you adequately meet the fertilizer needs of your cash crops, then the grain and the alfalfa that follow will need little or no extra fertilizer. ferti-lizer. For example, on sugar beets we usualy recommend approximately area farther from the sprinkler head gets the most water. Test for even sprinkling by placing tin cans at varying distances from the nozzle. noz-zle. You can measure the water depth in the cans to check the water wa-ter distribution. Be sure you have the right nozzle noz-zle heads for the pressure used, your supplier can assist you there. That does It. Follow the three points to have the lawn you'll bs proud of. 1. Fertilize with nitrogen at least twice a year. 2. Cut your gTass to a ISi inch height. 3. Water your lawn often; as temperature, roots and soil needs require. 75-100 pounds of nitrogen and 75-to 75-to 100 pounds of available phosphate phos-phate per acre. The beet crop will not use all of .this fertilizer. Relatively Rela-tively large amounts of fertilizer will be left in the soil for the grain that follows in the rotation. Therefore, There-fore, no fertilizer will need to be applied on the grain and likely little or none will be required on the alfalfa. For this reason, concentrate con-centrate your fertilizer applications on your cash crops. ALFALFA, CORN, AND SMALL GRAIN ROTATION If your rotation involves alfalfa, corn, and small grain, remember that the alfalfa has the greatest need for phosphate. Maintain an-adequate an-adequate supply for the alfalfa by ' adding 75 to 100 pounds of avail-' able phosphate once every three' or four years. If corn follows the alfalfa, you will have an adequate carry-over level of phosphate in the soil for the corn. Following alfalfa, the nitrogen supply in the soil will be fairly high. Whether or not it will pay to apply more on the corn will depend on the soil and moisture situation. A generaal recommendation is, if you have adequate moisture conditions, apply ap-ply approximately 100 pounds of nitrogen per acre on the corn. The small grain that follows will need no fertilizer. NITROGEN AND MOISTURE RELATIONSHIPS The benefit you get from nitrogen nitro-gen on corn and small grains is related directly to the adequacy of the moisture supply in the soil thru out the growing season. Corn responds re-sponds especially well. If you main tain a high level of moisture thru-out thru-out the growing season, you may' You are invited to the OPEN HOUSE -at- Iniermountain Farmers . Association (formerly Utah Poultry) DELTA, UTAH TUESDAY MARCH 26 Prizes and Surprises! MANY SPECIAL BARGAINS Everyone Invited ! Commercial Fertilizer Vital to Life Commercial fertilizer is vital to our American way of life. We would have serious food shortages get large yield increases by applying apply-ing nitrogen fertilizer. In this situation, situa-tion, you can benefit by using large amounts to good advantage as high as 200 to 300 lbs. per acre on year not immediately following fol-lowing alfalfa. On the other hand, if your moisture mois-ture supply varies and is limited, you will be better off financially if you apply lesser amounts of nitrogen fertilizer. If your corn follows fol-lows alfalfa where moisture is quite limited, don't plan to apply much, if any, nitrogen fertilizer on it Small grains present another problem. If you use too much fertilizer ferti-lizer your grain may lodge. Therefore, There-fore, we advise: apply nitrogen moderately. If small grains follow highly fertilized row crops or alfalfa alfal-fa in your rotation, we generally don't advise adding any nitrogen fertilizer. Stated briefly in conclusion here are the three rules for fertilizing your rotation: 1. Consider your entire rotation when applying fertilizer and satisfy first the fertilizer needs of the crops which have the highest requirements. re-quirements. 2. Consider your moisture supply when fertilizing corn. If you have adequate moisture throughout the growing season, you can apply large amounts of nitrogen to good advantage. But, if moisture levels are low or irrigations are infrequent, infre-quent, use less nitrogen. 3. Finally, remember: nitrogen on the growth and yield of barley. These studies were carried out In cooperation with several farmers and Mr. Hatch of the Soil Conservation Conser-vation Service. The fields studied included light to heavy soils. Irrigations Irri-gations varied from two to four. Only the conditions which showed an increase in the growth of the plants will be discussed here. Early planting of grain is very desirable. Planting so that it will come up in February or March is probably ideal. However, the fields which we studied last year were planted in early April as soon as the land was dry enough to plant. Ail fields were prepared in the fall but one. It was spring plowed and drilled. It was light soil and could b worked early. The soil temperature in the spring is too cool for the best growth of the young barley so anything any-thing which can be done to increase the soil temperature is desirable. Studying the soil temperature by use of a thermometer showed that the loose soil acted as insulation so that the sun's heat was concentrated con-centrated within the top three or four inches. The two week old plants on the loose soil had made the most growth and the poorest growth was made by the plants on the tightest soil. The average root length varied from two to four Inches. The stands were also better on the looser soil. The loose soil was plowed and planted. The firm soil was plowed, fall Irrigated, and spring planted, or summer plowed and spring planted. The settling by the winter moisture had firmed it. The packed soil was fall plowed, floated three or four times, fall irrigated, and spring planted. This shows that to obtain the best temperature for starting the barley, soil should he loose to firm. Any tightening of the soil decreased the soil temperature near the surface sur-face where the young plants start and thus slowed the rate of growth. Following this two week establishment estab-lishment period water and fertilizer fertili-zer controlled the growth of the plants. The grain irrigated about this time grew much faster than the grain that was allowed to get a little dry. It was shortly after this two week establishment period that response to both phosphate and nitrogen started to show up as compared to the non-fertilized grain. During the cool spring Is when both nitrogen and phosphate gave the best results. They are usually more rapidly available from the soil after it warms up. Keeping the grain wet so that good growth continues until it Is in head will give the highest yield. Field trials have shown that the (Continued on next page) ing period, it will pay, in terms of higher yields, to put larger amounts of nitrogen on crops like corn and grain. On the other hand, if your crops suffer for water between Irrigations, Ir-rigations, lesser amounts of nitrogen nitro-gen will be required. Avoid too much nitrogen on small grains. If you use manure, or if your grain follows alfalfa, little or no nitrogen will be required. re-quired. Where you follow a rotation of , a cash crop, grain, and alfalfa, best ; use can be made of phosphate If you apply it to the crop with the highest phosphate requirement. This means you will usually phosphate phos-phate the cash crop. If the cash crop phosphate needs are satisfied, little phosphate may be required on the alfalfa. This brings us to the question of how we tell the right fertilizers to put on. We strongly suggest that you have your soil tested at least once in every rotation. Soil tests will tell you if your soil needs phosphate of potash. The soli test will also point out any salt problems. prob-lems. Keep in mind, however, that the soil test does not give much Information. about nitrogen needs. The need for nitrogen depends largely upon your water supply, the rotation being followed, and the sequence of the crop In the rotation. A lot of questions are asked concerning trace minerals. These are required in very minute a-mounts a-mounts by crops. For example, five tons of alfalfa contains only 2V4 lbs. of Iron, 1 oz. of manganese, and less than hi oz. of copper and the other trace elements. In general, gen-eral, field crops in Utah are able to obtain sufficient of these from the native supplies in the soil. Experimental Ex-perimental evidence today indicates indi-cates no need to apply tiace minerals min-erals to Utah soils for the production produc-tion of field crops alfalfa, grain, com, and vegetables. The situation is somewhat different dif-ferent in our fruit trees, however. Considerable deficiencies of iron occur throughout the state. In addition, ad-dition, zinc deficiencies have been evident in about 10 of the orchards. or-chards. In a few locations manganese manga-nese is also deficient in our fruit trees. The wholesale application of these minerals is not recommended. Where they are needed, specific treatments for each element are usually required. DONT BE FOOLED BY "CURE-ALLS" It pays to deal with reputable dealers and buy only standard brands. Avoid materials sold under und-er labels stating "Not a Fertilizer," "Contains no Minerals," or some in the United States If we eliminated eliminat-ed the use of commercial fertilizers. We recognize the value of manure man-ure both for ith fertilizer value and for its soil building properties, but we don't have enough to satisfy the fertilizer needs on most farms. In this connection, also, manure Is. not necessarily a balanced fertilizer fertili-zer for all crops and situations. This makes it necessary to use commercial fertilizer in conjunction with manure on many farms. Fertilizer pays big dividends where it is used wisely. To get the most from your fertilizer dollar, you need to prepare good seed beds, fertilize adequately, plant recommended re-commended varieties, plant early, irrigate properly, control Insects and weeds, and follow good management man-agement practices generally. The real key to success in farming Is doing the right thing at the right time. Select fertilizer on the basis of your crop needs. For Utah field crops, let your fertilizer practices be guided by a few simple rules. 1. Use nitrogen on grass and grass crops grain and corn. 2. Apply phosphate to clover and alfalfa. 3. Cash crops like sugar beets, potatoes, and vegetables need both nitrogen and phosphate. Wrhen it is needed, put nitrogen fertilizer on every year. If you apply ap-ply your phosphate once in every 2-4 years, it will usually be sufficient. suf-ficient. Consult your county agent for the latest recommendations for your area. The need for nitroeen. oarticular- lv. deoends a lot on the water sud- ' other high powered product. Read ply. If you can irrigate often e- labels. Apply only those materials I! is for grasses, small gTains, corn, ply. If you can irrigate often e-. labels. Apply only those materials land cash crops; phosphate is forlnough to keep the soil In the root needed by your soil. If In doubt, 1 alfalfa, clovers, and cash crops. zone moist throughout the grow-' check with your county agent. |
