| OCR Text |
Show WATER REQUIRED FOR CROPS Efficiency of Conservation nd Actual 1 Moisture Requirements of Plants Vary Very Much. (Uy I). W. Kill: A II. Ciilnrado Aurlrullur- j al f'filli-K.l ' Various lnetiiiKaiors have found that It require from about 400 to 1,000 pounds of water to produce a pound of dry matter of a farm crop. The water requirement Increases wltn a Ight r temperature, a treu amount of lunshlne and a dryer aimosphere. In the arid reglous a moderately blgh temperature, a cloudless sky and a dry atmosphere prevail. Consequently the water requirement of plants naturally tend to be higher for the same kinds of crops It I concluded that about 700 pound of water are required In the arid region for the production of one pound of dry matter of common farm crops. The straw forms about one-half of tbe total weight of harvested grain. On this bails the total weight of straw snd grain for every bushel of wheat Is 120 pound. About 0 per cent of this or lus pounds Is dry matter. Therefore, It will require 7i0 times 10 or I l.ooo pounds of water to mature one bushel of wheat. This Is equal to o'i tons of water. One Inch of rainfall per acre weighs approximately 113 tons. It Is estl mated t hat under good tillage methods, sbout two-fifths of the total rainfall is available to the crop, therefore, bout 4i .2 tona of every acre inch of rainfall are used by the planta, and -ne Inch of raliifall can produce about m bushels of w heat, t'nder these coalitions, coa-litions, ten inrbe of rainfall would produ' H1 tush Is. IS inches 17 bushels. Where two years' precipitation precipita-tion Is stored in tha soli It will be possible to produce about 27 bushel f iiM er acre on a 12 Inch raJo- raii |
