Agricultural Science Commons^™

Bulletin No. 338 - Nutrient Deficiencies In Utah Orchards, D. W. Thorne, F. B. Wann

UAES Bulletins

When farm products are sold, some of the essential part of the soil are also marketed. If this process is continued, the soil may be eventually impoverished to the point where it cannot support high crop yields. In addition to direct soil depletion, unbalanced soil management practices may produce soil conditions that prevent or limit the uptake of certain elements by plants even though there may be enough total supply of the elements present to last hundreds or even thousands of years.

Both processes have been going on in many Utah orchards. Sale of fruit has gradually depleted the soil. …

Bulletin No. 345 - Effectiveness Of Gravity Drains And Experimental Pumping For Drainage Delta Area, Utah, O. W. Israelsen, D. F. Peterson Jr., R. C. Reeve

UAES Bulletins

Cooperatie investigations on drainage and reclamation of salted soils in the Delta Area, Utah, were undertaken by the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station, the U. S. Regional Salinity Laboratory, and Millard County Drainage Districts under a memorandum of understanding effective January 1, 1946.

This investigation comprises project 250 of the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station, R. H. Walker, director; and project 50-46-1 of the U. S. Regional Salinity Laboratory, H. E. Hayward, director.

The objectives of the investigations covered by the memorandum of understanding were:

1. To study the effectiveness of present methods of drainage; tile and open drains.

2. To determine …

Bulletin No. 342 - The Nutritive Content Of The Grazing Sheep's Diet On Summer And Winter Ranges Of Utah, C. Wayne Cook, Lorin E. Harris

UAES Bulletins

Approximately two million sheep graze the native ranges of Utah each year. These animals are on the range most of the year and their food supply must come from range plants as they are normally selected. The nutritive value of range forage is often borderline or deficient in essential nutrients, yet, sufficiently adequate to prevent obvious physiological disorders. These mild deficiencies may affect the productive efficiency of the animal even though no symptoms are apparent.

Bulletin No. 337 - The Vitamin Content Of Peas As Influenced By Maturity, Fertilizers, And Variety, Ethelwyn B. Wilcox, Katharine E. Morrell

UAES Bulletins

No abstract provided.

Bulletin No. 333 - Drainage Districts In Utah: Their Activities And Needs, J. Howard Maughan, Orson W. Israelsen, Eldon G. Hanson

UAES Bulletins

The need for drainage in Utah was widely recognized before 1900, resulting in passage of a drainage district law in 1896 and provision for cooperative drainage research beginning in 1904. The drainage district laws, developed and improved during the half-century ending 1948, have served as the major basis for drainage organization in the state.

Bulletin No. 336 - Utah Agricultural Experiment Station Biennial Report, 1946-1948, R. H. Walker

UAES Bulletins

During the past biennium there has been a general expansion in the research program of the Agricultural Experiment Station. This was made possible through increased state legislative appropriation and through federal funds made available by the Agricultural Research and Marketing Act which passed Congress in August 1946, although funds were not available until August 1947. Grants-in-aid by state and private agencies have also made other research possible.

Bulletin No. 335 - Reclamation Of Saline-Alkali Soils By Leaching: Delta Area, Utah, R. C. Reeve, L. E. Allison, D. F. Peterson Jr.

UAES Bulletins

Salinity is a problem of irrigation agriculture and is recognized as a serious threat to crop production in the Western States. All water used for irrigation, whether diverted from surface stream or pumped from wells, contains dissolved salts in amounts varying from a few hundred pounds to several tons per acre-foot (8,23). Salts accumulating in the root zone of the soil, as water is removed by crop and by surface evaporation eventually, may restrict crop yields. Extensive areas of land in the Western States, which were at one time productive under irrigation, have been abandoned because of the development of …

Bulletin No. 334 - Costs And Returns From Peach Production: Selected Areas, Utah, Earnest M. Morrison

UAES Bulletins

Peach production in Utah is an important fruit enterprise. Preliminary estimates place Utah's 1947 peach crop at about 933,000 bushels, valued at about $1,679,000. This is equal to about 1.2 percent of the value of all agricultural commodities produced in the state, and about 27 percent of the value of Utah's fruit crop. The 1947 peach crop was, however, about 27 percent, or 200,000 bushels larger than the ten-year average, 1937 to 1946, and was the second largest crop on record in the last thirty years. In terms of value the 1947 crop was exceeded only by the crops of …

Bulletin No. 331 - Cost And Efficiency Of Canning Pea Production In Cache And Box Elder Counties, Utah, Earnest M. Morrison

UAES Bulletins

The production of field peas for canning purposes has played an important part in Utah's agriculture, furnishing some of the intensity needed on her small farms. Peas are a crop that can be handled largely with the labor of the operator and his family and has not required any specialized machinery for their production. They are a suitable alfalfa nurse crop and in most areas do not compete greatly with other crops grown for the farmer's time.

Bulletin No. 330 - Peach Orchard Soil Mangement Studies, A. L. Stark, D. W. Thorne

UAES Bulletins

Peaches are the most important fruit crop in Utah. The total number of peach trees is greater and the volume of fruit produced for market is larger than of any other fruit. Most of the peaches are produced by a large number of growers who have small plantings. These small orchards contribute substantially to the total income of the growers and it is, therefore, important that maximum yields of high quality fruit be obtained from limited acreage.

A survey of the fruit production problems in Utah reported in 1938 (13) indicated that poor soil management practices were important in contributing …

Bulletin No. 329 - Cost And Efficiency Of Producing Sugar Beets In Utah, 1945, Ernest M. Morrison

UAES Bulletins

Early in the history of Utah the pioneers became interested in sugar-beet production. In 1852 John Taylor, Elias Morris and others, under the direction of Brigham Young, obtained machinery from France for refining beet sugar, transported it across the Atlantic Ocean by boat, up the Mississippi River to Fort Leavenworth, and thence across the plains to Utah by ox teams. The factory was established in what is now known as Sugar House in the southeastern part of Salt Lake City. These initial efforts proved to be unsuccessful primarily because the "open kettle" method employed was never satisfactory.

Not until 1891 …

Bulletin No. 332 - Cost And Efficiency Of Celery Production In Box Elder And Utah Counties In 1945 And 1947, Earnest M. Morrison

UAES Bulletins

The production of celery by farmers in Utah has undergone important changes in the past five or six years. The most notable have been centered around the introduction of the new green type (Pascal) celery. The methods of production have advanced rapidly, the quality of the product has been greatly improved, the yield per acre has been increased at least twofold, and the acreage has been expanded.

With the growing impetus of the industry have come requests for information on cost and return to the farmer and for an analysis of other economic and physical factors associated with the industry. …

Bulletin No. 328 - Maturity Studies With Canning Peas, L. H. Pollard, E. B. Wilcox, H. B. Peterson

UAES Bulletins

In the growing and processing of canning peas there are many factors which influence yield and quality. Of these, the stage of maturity is possibly the most important. Beyond the stage of maximum quality, peas continue to grow in size and yields increase but quality decreases. Consequently, both growers and processors are definitely interested in knowing the stage of maturity at which peas should be harvested for the greatest yield of acceptable quality. Peas harvested and processed at that stage should give both growers and canners the maximum returns if grading methods are satisfactory and price schedules equitable.

Bulletin No. 327 - Utah Agricultural Experiment Station Biennial Report, 1944-1946, R. H. Walker

UAES Bulletins

During the past biennium there has been a general expansion in the research program of the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station. Although some of the investigations were curtailed by lack of personnel and equipment and the pressure of wartime assignments, many of the staff were able to devote more time to research because of a lessening of the teaching load at the College. The emergency caused a re-examination of the research program, old projects, no longer urgent were weeded out, others were revised to meet the needs of the changing times, and many new projects were initiated to extend the research …

Bulletin No. 326 - Rainfall And Irrigation In Relation To Soil Erosion, Willard Gardner, John Hale Gardner, C. W. Lauritzen

UAES Bulletins

This paper attempts to point out to farmers, agricultural specialists, and others who may be interested, pertinent facts regarding rainfall intensity and other meteorological data that have to do with the wearing down of range and agricultural soils, and to present by means of diagrams illustrations of general relationships between the rate of wearing down of irrigated soils, the size of the irrigation stream and the slope of the eroding surface.

Large streams running down steep slopes, whether from rainfall or from irrigation, constitute a destructive process that cannot be completely controlled. Fortunately, vegetation protects the soil against the destructive …

Bulletin No. 325 - An Economic Study Of Sheep Production In Southwestern Utah, Dee A. Broadbent, George T. Blanch, W. Preston Thomas

UAES Bulletins

Range sheep production has been one of the major agricultural enterprises in Utah, particularly in the southwestern part of the state, since these areas were first settled. Stock sheep numbers in Utah were about 2,100,000 by 1890, which is approximately the present number in the state. Since 1890 the numbers have fluctuated between 2,000,000 and 2,775,000.

This important industry has, from the time of its introduction, been closely associated with the use of public range lands. The unrestricted grazing of public range lands resulted in damage to a considerable area and was one of the important factors that led to …

Bulletin No. 324 - Some Physical And Chemical Responses Of Agropyron Spicatum To Herbage Removal At Various Seasons, L. A. Stoddart

UAES Bulletins

Management of arid western ranges must be based upon the physiology of the individual plants which constitute the range. Too little is known of the ability of range plants to continue normal functioning under stress of grazing. Grazing doubtless has some beneficial influences in arid climates because it reduces transpiring surface. Possibly "pruning" has some stimulating effect, especially upon shrubs, and also, grazing animals plant seeds through trampling action. Despite these possible benefits, both trampling and removal of herbage by grazing must be .regarded as fundamentally detrimental to the welfare of plants, especially in arid climates. Trampling, especially on wet …

Bulletin No. 323 - Migration: A Problem Of Youth In Utah, Joseph A. Geddes

UAES Bulletins

Migration has always been a problem of major importance in Utah. During early days migration to the Mormon area was known as the "gathering". The concept was unusual because it included not only the searching out of those believed to be the "honest in heart" from many nations through an extensive missionary system, but also because it possessed an "idealogy" of planned building of what was expected to be superior communities (Zions) to engage the efforts and strivings of such people when brought together. It is in the development of this idealogy--this method of building a superior culture with the …

Bulletin No. 322 - Irrigation Companies In Utah: Their Activities And Needs, Orson W. Israelsen, J. Howard Maughan, George P. South

UAES Bulletins

Utah has approximately 700 irrigation companies having more than 8,750 miles of unlined earth canals, 410 pumping plants, 1,973 diversion dams and nearly 400 storage dams which provide a storage capacity for more than 3,400,000 acre-feet of water. More than 42 million dollars is invested in irrigation works, with at least 1.5 million dollars spent annually for maintenance.

Irrigation companies have the major responsibility for safe maintenance and efficient operation of Utah's dams, canals, spillways, waste-ways, flumes, inverted siphons, head gates and lateral gates--the structures with which irrigation water is stored, diverted, and conveyed to 1.3 million acres of productive …

Bulletin No. 320 - Soil Erosion In Small Irrigation Furrows, Orson W. Israelsen, George D. Clyde, Cyril W. Laurit

UAES Bulletins

This bulletin reports experimental procedure and data collected in a three-year study of the effect of irrigation furrow slopes and size of streams on the amounts of soil eroded from the furrows. Studies were made in 10 furrows on each of two farm experimental plots, the furrows being in different directions from a central water-stilling basin. The experimental plots were maintained fallow during the season--no crops were grown. Furrow slopes ranged from less than 1 percent to slightly more than 6 percent. Irrigation streams from 5 to 30 gallons per minute at the furrow inlet were measured first by means …

Bulletin No. 321 - Utah Housing In Its Group And Community Aspects, Joseph A. Geddes, Carmen D. Fredrickson

UAES Bulletins

The method employed in this study is to select a comparatively important segment of living--housing--for careful appraisement with the purpose of comparing different groups and localities with respect to it. Comparisons are made (1) between Utah and other states, (2) between counties of Utah, and (3) between four Utah communities. The data include the house, home conveniences, the automobile, the streets ad joining the house, newspapers, magazines, books, and connection with water, sewer, power and telephone lines. The segment is thus not small. The groups are segregated by the vocation, farm and nonfarm, from which the living is made. The …

Bulletin No. 318 - An Economic Analysis Of Turkey Production In Utah, Dee A. Broadbent, W. Preston Thomas, George T. Blanch

UAES Bulletins

The production of turkeys for market by farmers in Utah has increased rapidly since 1935, and in 1944 was the highest in the history of the state. Although turkeys are produced on a relatively few farms , the enterprise is an important source of the state's agricultural income. In 1942 and 1943, the cash income from sales of turkeys was almost six million dollars or equivalent to 5 percent of the total cash income of the state.

In addition to the sale of turkeys, this new enterprise supports, fully or in part, other industries of the state. The processing plants, …

Bulletin No. 319 - Cherry Rootstocks, Francis M. Coe

UAES Bulletins

This paper reviews the history and status of the cherry rootstocks problem in Utah and the United States and reports 14 years' results from a sweet cherry rootstocks test orchard on open porous soil at Farmington, Utah.

Although a majority of authorities favor or recommend the mazzard root for sweet cherries, the mahaleb is also widely used and preferred by many nurserymen and growers. Many authorities condemn mahaleb stocks as being dwarfing and short lived. Two orchard tests on heavy soils in the Atlantic states decisively favor mazzard.

In the Utah test orchard, the trees on mahaleb proved to be …

Bulletin No. 317 - Range Lands Of Utah County And Their Utilization, L. A. Stoddart

UAES Bulletins

Utah County, comprising about 1,394,760 acres, lies in the north central part of Utah immediately west of the precipitous Wasatch Mountains. These mountains, which occupy about the eastern half of the county, vary in elevation from 4,700 feet at the bench lands to 9,000 and 10,000 feet. Extreme elevations of 12,000 feet are found on the highest peaks. The western half of the county, although broken by small mountain ranges, is much more level, lower in elevation, and more arid. Whereas the mountainous eastern parts of the county are marked by higher precipitation and, consequently by relatively dense vegetation, mostly …

Bulletin No. 316 - Marketing Fruits And Vegetables In Utah, W. Preston Thomas, George T. Blanch

UAES Bulletins

During the period from 1920 to 1941 the fruit industry in Utah and other areas or the west went through a period of adjustment. Previous to and during World War I, growers received high prices for fruit which resulted in increased production. However, following the sudden drop in prices of 1920, fruit growers had a hard time to market the large tonnage produced. Returns were low. During this period keen competition for the sale of fruits developed between individual growers and various producing areas. Although the problems of adjustment were severe in most fruit areas of the west, the marketing …

Bulletin No. 315 - Biennial Report, 1942-1944

UAES Bulletins

The war years have made new demands on Station personnel and facilities. With fewer staff members and less adequate equipment the Station has not only carried on the regular project work, but the research program has been expanded, and numerous activities resulting from the emergency have been assumed.

The Station has taken a leading place in the victory food production program. Each year it has assumed the lead in a study of the wartime agricultural production capacity of the state and desirable crop and livestock adjustments studying all the agricultural assets and the ability to produce various crops.

As a …

Bulletin No. 314 - Gains Made By Cattle On Summer Range In Northern Utah, L. A. Stoddart

UAES Bulletins

The Utah Agricultural Experiment Station, in 1934, began experimental studies on the grazing of beef steers on mountainous summer range lands. Although the direct purpose of this work was to find whether supplementing phosphorus in the diet of grazing steers would increase their gains, many incidental observations proved of great interest. Among the most significant were the distribution and extent of weight gains through the summer grazing season and the effects of various factors such as weather upon the gains, causing them to vary greatly from year to year.

Bulletin No. 311 - Water-Application Efficiencies In Irrigation, Orson W. Israelsen, Wayne D. Criddle, Dean K. Fuhriman, Vaughn E. Hansen

UAES Bulletins

There is today an urgent need for information on how to distribute irrigation water uniformly over land surfaces. Land and water are no longer cheap. Prices of the better irrigated lands in Utah range from $200 to $400 or more per acre, whereas dry farm lands are worth less than $100. Water stock which formerly sold at $25 per share now costs $100, or more. Storage water in the newer reservoirs costs from $30 to $50 per acre-foot, an amount equivalent to $9,000 or more for a full water right to irrigate 100 acres. Because of these high costs of …

Bulletin No. 312 - Cache: A Beardless, Smut-Resistant Winter Wheat, R. W. Woodward, D. C. Tingey

UAES Bulletins

Resistance to dwarf smut is one of the major characteristics sought in the development of any new wheat variety for growing in the Western States. Before the development of resistant varieties, winter wheat losses in northern Utah and adjacent areas resulting from soil-borne dwarf smut were estimated to approach $500,000 annually.

In three principal locations, western Cache, Box Elder, and Juab Counties, Utah Kanred had for years been a good quality, hard red winter wheat variety of high producing ability, but susceptible to smut which in some years almost destroyed the crop. Losses from smut have been greatly reduced in …

Bulletin No. 310 - The Influence Of Cropping On The Nitrogen, Phosphorus And Organic Matter Of The Soil Under Irrigation Farming, J. E. Greaves, C. T. Hirst

UAES Bulletins

Most soils contain sufficient nutrients for normal plant growth, with the exception of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. These elements are used by plants in the largest quantities and the amounts of these in the soil govern its productivity. Soil organic matter is of prime importance for it is the matrix which holds the nitrogen and modifies the structure, temperature, and water-holding capacity of the soil. The organic matter is the very life of the soil, for it is in and on it that bacteria work and by so doing determine the kind and speed of reactions which occur. It is …