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Bulletin No. 104 - The Storage Of Winter Precipitation In Soils, John A. Widtsoe

UAES Bulletins

It has been found that the production of one pound of dry plant substance on soils of average fertility, requires in humid districts not more than five hundred pounds of water, and in arid districts like Utah about seven hundred and fifty pounds. This indicates that the average rainfall of Utah, which is about twelve inches, if properly conserved in the soil, is sufficient to produce annually, without irrigation, from thirty to forty-five bushels of wheat to the acre, or corresponding yields of other crops. The realization of this truth has changed greatly our views of irrigation practices. The beginning …