| Show ATOMS AND agriculture isotope to help farm income in C 0 M e not only did the atomic bomb explosions plo lons at hiroshima and nagasaki reveal the presence of a new and terrible war weapon but they also may have ushered in an era of greater eater progress and prosperity for the american farmer researchers at oregon state college in corvallis currently are conducting experiments which they believe may add millions of dollars worth of produce to the nations yield in agricultural products key to that expanded production in if the radioactive isotope a by prod act of nuclear fission which Is being used in experiments that reach into every field of natural science but at oregon OreIL state college and washington state college at pullman major experimental emphasis Is 13 placed on agriculture investigation of the application ot of the atom to agriculture has been given impetus by the estimate ot of william W waymack member of the atomic energy commission and des moines iowa newspaper publisher that radioactive isotopes may be instrumental in increasing farm production in the U S by million dollars in one year over a period ot of 10 years such an increase would pay for the two billion dollar laix spent on developing atomic energy during the war value of the isotope to agricultural research la is similar to that in other fields of research its 13 radioactivity permits its lt use as a tracer through the organisms of plants and animals applied in fertilizers to the soil its progress can be traced trace d in the living plant providing a medium for the understanding of plant we life and nutrition nevet never before available several isotopes are being used to study soil chemistry of potash in the hope of finding more effective ways of furnishing nutrition to crops another is being utilized to study the effects of application of lime to the soil still other areas of research may yield important knowledge on absorption by grain of phosphate and chlorine from the earth f |
