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Show 1 "V ' ' ' " ' ' ' . ; ' " , , m AGRONOMY 1 Edited by Prof. J. C. Hogenson. j A. C. U. THE ERADICATION OF WEEDS. r One of the .great problems which confronts , the farmers of Utah as well as most other states at the prcs- cnt time, is the eradication of weeds which tend to overrun the land and destroy the cultivated crops. Some weeds arc easily gotten rid of while othcrs'arc very persistent and methods me-thods in order to be successful, must be suited to the conditions and. the weed. ' Weeds arc naturally divided into -three great 'classes: Annuals,. Biennials, Bien-nials, and Perennials. Annuals arc those weeds which grow from, and mature their sced each year. They may usually be brought under subjection by preventing prevent-ing seed production; the use of clean seed. If the weeds arc already on the land, disc early in tlic fall so as to cover the seed lightly, which will cause them to germinate, then plow deeply. Biennials arc those which require two years to produce seed. pThc seed produces a plant the first year but seed is not produced until the second year. .These weeds may usually be prevented fromi becoming troublesome trouble-some by the same means as used1 for annual weeds. Perennials arc those which" grow from year to year and arc the most troublesome weeds 'wc have. Not only must the production of seed, be . prevented but the aindcrgroiind portion por-tion must also be ' destroyed. The root stocks may be dug up and removed re-moved where the area is small Chemicals may be applied "so that they will come in contact with the plamj. The root jjtocks may be starved starv-ed by preventing any development of leaves or other parts above ground. . Most roots may "be killed by exposing expos-ing them to the sun in summer and ' to the . action - of freezing in winter. Weed seeds retain their vitality for a long time, so, that when 'buried they may infest' the land from year to year as th'ey! arebrought nearer to the surface by cultivation. Most seeds plowed under to the depth or ordinary plowing" will not germinate. Prof. Moore of the Wisconsin Ex periment Station, found that a largs number of troublesome weeds coulc be controlled .by spraying with a solution so-lution of iron sulphate when the plants arc quite young. The solution is made by emptying a 100 pound sack of iron sulphate into an ordinary So gallon barrel. Then fill the barrel bar-rel with water and stir until a solu- tion is made. ' 1 Prof. Moore states that in an ex- penment, carried on by him, a str; 1 thirty feet in width was left unspray- j c'd. On June 18 this strip was filled j with mustard and other weeds in fud j bloom, so ' that the grain could not j be seen, while the field on cither side which had been sprayed, was pract- ' ically free. The iron sulphate will not injure the grain or alfalfa. It costs about eleven dollars per ton; 4 one hundred pounds will spray an acre. Prof. Wilson of the Minnesota -Sta-Station, has made some interesting observations on weed seeds. Out of i 5000 shephard's purse seeds planted Jl one inoh deep, 3240 plants were pro- Wi duccd, the same number planted j three inches deep produced no plants. Wild mustard seed1 planted one inch deep; produced 730 plants from 1000 seeds, the same number of seeds j planted three inches deep, produce:! 1 290 plants, and planted five inches j deep no plants. j Prof. Waldron claims that wild oat seeds arc practically dead after being be-ing buric(U twenty months; sheph- ard's pui'fae seed when buried fifty-six fifty-six months. j Prof. Willson of the Binncsota Si'-i-tion, claims that a 15 per cent solution solu-tion of sulphuric acid is very effective effect-ive in destroying weeds, though it is rather expensive. He found that 'I thorough cultivation and proper ro- I tation of crops the most effective. I method. He suggests that part ot I -the, farm be taken at a time and plant- I ed to corn or other cultivated crops and then cultivate thoroughly, "The careless methods of farming generally general-ly practiced in grain growing sections sec-tions are to a large extent responsible responsi-ble for the weeds. Use in rotation v corn or potatoes two years, grass or alfalfa three years, and grain two years, making a seven year rotation. 1 w |