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Show Farmers Should Consider Fall Irrigation Practices Where water is available, farmers far-mers should seriously consider irrigating ir-rigating in the fall, advises Clair R. Acord', Utah County Agricultural Agricul-tural Agent. On lands where there is no crop soil can be filled with moisture in the fall and it will remain there and be available for spring planting. plant-ing. It would be well to precede the fall irrigation with fall plowing. plow-ing. Dr. Paul D. Christensen, extension exten-sion soil conservationist at Utah State Agricultural College, says fall irrigation has distinct advantages. advan-tages. Fall moisture can be used. Irrigation following plowing will help to prepare the seed bed the following year. Also, it will insure adequate moisture in the entire root zne for the spring planting. The irrigating can be done during slack periods. It permits immediate immed-iate planting in the spring. It gets the crop off to a good start in the spring. It is also well to consider fall irrigation of alfalfa. This is true particularly if irrigating can be done early enough to allow the few inches of surface soil to dry out and largely eliminate danger of winter freezing of the surface soil and winter killing. Fall irrigation can also be used to good advantage advan-tage to leach salt and alkali soils. Wherever water is available in the fall, it is sttrongly recommended recom-mended that it be used to the best advantage, Dr. Christensen says. |