| Show STORE SOIL MOISTURE 16 NE STATION STUDIES STUDIED DRY FARMING QUESTION term lead many farmer farmers to Ocl teia it mean means growing crop crops with I 1 small amount of water cultivation prevent Pr evaporation water rather than plant food wel la 18 mhd limiting factor in crop production ahr throughout tho the middle west till thin haa has been especially noticeably during tho the past fow few years and the like fart farther lier went of tho the missouri aijo goca goes tho that more it to I 1 true that lack of 0 eoll soil mols turo lure ie to responsible for short copek anoro than any other one thin thing not excepting euch such important matter matters an no need seed election and cultivation went of abu merld lau in nebraska eka an well BB as lu tho the dakotan there te in a it scar ecar o city 0 of moisture almost every year heme methods niu thode of moisture cons etym tion uro are of prime importance to tho farmers farr ocra of that territory at all idealizing title tho the nebraska experiment in tation established a Bube at north platte many yearn years ago chero for a number of experiments bavo have been condoled with ith a it view of learning BB as much BB nis possible about the movement of 01 water in the BOH soil how to conserve it for the UBO use 01 oh crops and how to store it la in the roll volt f from rom one year to another in other orda thia this station lias has been hat liae lias come to ho be referred to u an dry tar arming ming tho the term dry farming la Is a mer to some a extent it hae has led i farmers to suppose that it rowing growing crop crops without moisture mote ture OP or rather with a email amount which IU 10 does not crops grown la in the arid regions need juet just as an much anater as an those grown in the humid sections in fact they need more because 0 OK the drying winds that prevail In 1 cirano transpiration that ie in the ex f vitiation hial atlon of moisture ture by the plante planta summer fal lowing that la in of the soil at intervale intervals of ono one to during the bummer slimmer seabon 10 the he made uee use sections of our territory to cone erv moisture mo lature some fa fanner have suii i fumed it seems that frequent culta of the soil during the summer season increases lh ift some vay ay the amount of water in that soil oil but this ie its a mistake mia take there ie Is only one way of increasing the water coin tent of a soil and that ie in by ralpj what surface cultivation can do ant anil does do is 1 to prevent the water in the soil from escaping into the atmo phere it ie Is impossible to cou conserve serve all nl the moisture mol aturo of a season by surface cultivation but a certain percentages percent ng of it can bo be stored la in the eoll soll through gl this method the substation at north platte platter found that during a series of year they were able to store from 10 to 33 ler per cent of a beacons seasons rainfall by cul culf i tiva ting frequently enough to kiep he et the surface three or four inches of eoll soil loose and by preventing veea iceo growth in other worda words froin from a inch geons rainfall they were able to store and retain in the eoll soil for the uee use of crops the year about five inches but sometimes not more than 15 inches or ten en per cent of the total rainfall tho the variation la irv the amount of water stored in di dller fe r ent years was found to depend upon 1 A number of conditions in to rea tain as enuch of that water am tho the surface be broken up with a diek disk or batrow or cuir clr table implement its mediately after thu the rain min since the mulch has to bo be fijut three to four inches deep it cn cun radl ly be peen seen that the moisture I 1 u on only r about two inches of thia this soil can be ba cou conserved served because that stored in the top mulch Is lost lu in a very row few day days then too a very dry soil does not riot absorb moisture so readily as a wet yn |
