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Show Rundown Pastures Can Be Productive Soil Test Is First Step In 'Face-Lilting' Plan A "face-lifting" for old, rundown, edy permanent pastures is recommended rec-ommended by Purdue University "Ironomists. A good renovation program pro-gram supported by liming and the s e 0f commercial fertilizer can bring a pasture back to lush, vigorous vigor-ous production, they say. It can double dou-ble the pasture's carrying capacity and improve the quality of the herb- a erg. First step in the program is a soil test to find out the needs for we cwt 1 ppopi , 6IMCE WE HAD T2J -VTC) OUtt PACE L1PTE0 , I Ur'--''i!L P wg vf eoc-i-o ,J j. .. 'A . ' yl 0011 pqoouction: ;;: v f 'limestone and for nitrogen, phosphate phos-phate and potash fertilizer. Making a new seedbed on an old ;sod can be satisfactorily done with a disc harrow or field cultivator, 'the agronomists say. The operation can be eased considerably by working work-ing the soil in one direction and then working it crosswise. Timothy and smooth brome grass are excellent for supplementing blue grass. How much these grasses increase in-crease pasture output depends on the legumes used in the mixture and the amount and analysis of fertilizer. ferti-lizer. The agronomists say that a good seed mixture should contain two pounds of red clover, three pounds of broadleaf trefoil and a quarter pound of Ladino clover. The Purdue agronomists stress that a good application of commercial commer-cial fertilizer is essential in pasture renovation. They recommend using 400 pounds per acre of 0-20-10 or 0-20-0 fertilizer at seeding time. The phosphate and potash fertilizer helps get the new seeding off to a good start, and supplies the nutrients nutri-ents the legumes need most. |