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Show CONDITION OF , SOIL Must Contain Absolutely Necessary Neces-sary Ingredient, Moisture. tn Irrigated Districts Wheat, in All Probability, Will Require Lets l Water, Per Pound of Dry ! Matter, Than Oats. Ny It I, I'AI'.SII AM.. C..I..I i.l.i A;rl i iiliiir.il 'i ! I if I Soil conditions are the prime re-HUlsites re-HUlsites to Mlc'ccssful agriculture, and the proper conditions uie not all the same for all kinds of crops. A soil partlculailv ndaptrd to one kind of crop may be w holly Inndi ipiate for others. The Boil In proper condition for whatever crop to be grown must contain the absolutely nei essury Ingredient, In-gredient, moisture. The moisture of the soil which Is available for plant growth Is known uh free in!sliire, or that which U apparent. ap-parent. This moisture or water dissolves dis-solves the raits of the soil and Is taken Into the plant roots to be used 111 the growth of the plant. This moisture mois-ture U absorbed from tin- soil ami by the capillary action follows along the minute tube that extends up the stem of the plant and out to the haves where the moisture Is euiporatcd. This process is continuous and at the same time the growth of the plant is Increased. We see that there must be some ratio between the amount of moisture absorbed by the plant and the increased growth produced. Many experiments have been made upon different kinds of farm crops I and the umount of water required to produce a pound of dry matter varies between wide limits. These tests Indicate In-dicate that 2nd pounds of water will he necessary to produce a pound of dry matter, while In other cas s as high as M0 or !m pounds will be necessary. This great variation Is due to the climatic conditions, locality, kind of crop, nnd kind of soil. Jn the hu mid regions less water Is resulted than lu the ti rid country, and this fact partly explains why a greater amount of water must be held In the r.oil In our Irrigated districts of the west. Wheat, In nil probability, will require b ss water, per pound of dry (natter, than oats, and ulfalfa will require more than oats. If we assume that an average crop requites 4o0 pounds of water to produce pro-duce one pound of dry matter and In Mm rase of alfalfa, which produced pro-duced four tons per sere for the season, sea-son, lll require for the above average aver-age f.bout 51,200 cubic feet of water, or a depth of a little over four-teii four-teii Inches over the entire acre, or 1.17G acre feet, TbT amount of wster must be held In the soli particles as free water available for the plant growth. A good soil must be of such a nature as to act as a reservoir and at the same time supply the necessary neces-sary chemical constituents to the plant. |
