| Show 1 l 1 01 5 i anay LAND FARM ING j important problem Is to con serve moisture in the tha soil to properly Sum merTill till land re j quires dires as much or more more labor y and attention attenni 0 nthan than raising crop other essentials the most important pe problem in dry land farming is to conserve the moist ture in the soil distributing I 1 it I 1 1 throughout the season of r growth the total annual precipitation is usually sufficient to grow a large crop but some of it comes when not needed and in larger quantities than can be used use d v and often fall fails to come when most needed by the giop crop the soil may inny be used as a vast reservoir for storing A the water until it is used by the plant 2 by 13 keeping the soil loose on top w we stop evaporation from the soil so that all the water may be used by the plant in this way we save the water wate in the soil until it is needed by the A i crop surface tillage Is a means of tap ping the rainfall the surface soil is f 0 made loose and the capillary connect tion between lie tween the loose surface and the moister soil below is broken making it more difficult forthe water in the soil to reach the surface where aher e it is lost by evaporation the depth of c cultivation desirable in the formation of the soil mulch will depend on tife frequency of cultivation and the amount of rainfall during a long dry period a mulch three or four inches thick is 16 not too much it if a crust f 1 forms on the surface water Is lost ravid rapid 0 idly ly by eva evaporation horation po ration if a crust forms form S under the mulch it prevents the ciri dilation ot air in m the soil and also fa vors the escape of the water this crust mus must t be broken by deeper cultivation ti land is summer tilled to store the 1 mol moisture stUre of 0 one n season in order that sg tc rop maybe gro W themore the more A i thorough the tillage the better this moisture poi moisture sture is conserved when a small grain crop is being harvested the disk ff should follow the binder the ground may be plowed later in the fall and packed with a harrow and soil pack waff er r As soon as the frost is gone in the spring the ground should be made f loose on top it should be kept in this condition all summer or until the next t crop is seeded the disk and harrow should be used as often as necessary s to keep the surface loose when the ground is not plowed in the tall it r will ha bg necessary to disk early in the si spring and plow before july 15 deep plowing increases the capacity of the soil to hold water if weeds are all lowed to grow the effects of summer tilling are 1 the surface should h never be bowed a to become hard for this gives the sarno same conditions as leaving a hole in the bottom of a water tank it permits the escape of the water to properly summer till land requires as much or more labor and attention than raising a crop subsurface sub surface packing is the firming of the soil beneath the mulch this Is not done to hold the moisture but r to allow the moisture to come up with in reach of the plant roots to make a road for the water to climb up for water cannot go upward without a J 1 4 connected line along which to travel 1 when the soil is very loose and full of air spaces the line is but 1 when the soil has been packed the air spaces are squeezed out the soil y grains brought together and a fine J ax roadbed is made for the upward move ove m anent ant of the water i however t the he tilling of the soil is pot not the sum total of dryland dry land farming drouth resisting varieties rotations and J nd fertility are also very important factors the durum curua varieties of bhea are out yielding the common spring 01 sheat by many bushels per acre and the best varieties of winter wheat are 4 ia out yielding the durum aher 1 aon and other early varieties of oats y k s op f ry r y are fast replacing the common varieties alfalfa is destined to produce a wonderful change in tho the west both in its effect upon the soll soil and as a forage crop rotations often give ag a great increase in yield as tillage or varieties arle ties all the these 0 factors should be given equal attention in a com coin system of pi crop op brodu production cdon |
