Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons^™

Cultivation : Does Haste Mean Waste?, H M. Fisher

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Many farmers believe that increasing the speed of cultivation and seeding implements will cause deterioration of soils and reduced crop yields.

In a three-year trial on clover ley land at Wongan Hills higher cultivation speeds tended to increase rather than decrease wheat yields. There was some deterioration in the physical structure of the soil.

1964 Drought In Connecticut, The, Byron E. Janes, Joseph J. Brumbach

Storrs Agricultural Experiment Station

No abstract provided.

Kimberley Research Station Progress Report, 1964 : Soil Fertility And Plant Nutrition, D B. Parbery, R. Wetselaar

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

BEFORE 1963, very little work, other than that described in Burvill's original report, had been done on the analysis of Ord soils, nor had their fertility status been clearly defined.

Seed And Pasture Rates For New Dairy Pastures, F E. Ryan

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

THE success or failure of pasture establishment on new land often depends on the interaction of rate of seeding and rate of superphosphate application.

Every year large areas of virgin land are cleared and sown to pasture in the higher rainfall areas, and all-too often the new pasture is not as successful as it should be because too little super is applied, and, in some cases, too little seed.

Sulfur Fertilizers For Alfalfa Production In Nebraska, R. L. Fox, A. D. Flowerday, F. W. Hosterman, H. F. Rhoades, R. A. Olson

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Research Bulletins

In order to elaborate all aspects of the sulfur problem in alfalfa production, a series of field, greenhouse and laboratory experiments was initiated to determine: 1. The influence of sulfur fertilization on the yield of alfalfa in Nebraska. 2. The influence of sulfur fertilization on the protein, vitamin A, and sulfur contents of alfalfa. 3. The sulfur supplying capacities of various soils under field and greenhouse conditions. 4. The sulfur content of precipitation at widely scattered points in Nebraska. 5. Soil properties associated with sulfur deficiency. 6. Optimum methods for estimating the sulfur status of soils by soil testing. The …

Farming Without Fallow, H M. Fisher

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

UNDER the more intensive cropping rotations common in the early development of the cereal areas of Western Australia bare fallowing was a basic technique in cereal production.

By ploughing the land in July or August and keeping it bare of vegetation for nine or ten months, either by grazing or cultivation, a substantial beneficial effect on the subsequent crop could be expected.

Bare Patch And Poor Emergence Of Cereals. 3. Crusting Of The Soil Surface, S C. Chambers

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

In some seasons extensive bare patches occur in cereal crops sown on the heavier wheat belt soils.

Experimental results from Beverley indicate that the poor emergence in some of these plantings may be due to crusting of the soil surface.

Working the surface with light harrows may destroy the crust and improve emergence.

Microorganisms And Soil Structure, T. M. Mccalla, F. A. Haskins

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

SUMMARY

Good stable soil structure is valuable for promoting the growth of plants and micro-organisms by permitting enhanced aeration and water penetration and by decreasing erosion under some conditions.

Micro-organisms influence water percolation through the soil. They may plug up soil pores with byproducts of growth and reduce water percolation. On the other hand, if a soil containing a large amount of microbial products is stirred and allowed to dry, then the percolation may be high.

Micro-organisms are involved in stabilizing soil structure by their products of decomposition and their cellular binding material, such as mycelia. Microorganisms differ greatly in …

The Development Of Western Australian Sand Plain Soils For Agriculture, Richard Philip Roberts, F. L. Shier

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

IN a recently published economic survey of the Australian wheat growing industry, it was reported that nearly two-thirds of the farms surveyed in Western Australia were located on lateritic "sand plain."

As a random selection was made of the eighty farms that were visited it is reasonable to conclude that a similar proportion of all the State's wheat producing farms are on that type of country.

This constitutes a remarkable change from the earlier days of wheat belt settlement when the sand plain soils were regarded as virtually useless and by-passed for development.

It is the purpose of this article …

Kimberley Research Station : A Progress Report, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

INTEREST in the agricultural potential of the Kimberley region in Western Australia dates from its early exploration and settlement in the last century.

Several farming development schemes were considered for the area, but were never implemented.

This could be mainly attributable to lack of knowledge of agricultural potentialities, limitations of the local environment and ways of exploiting the local environment.

Up to the present the economy of the region is almost entirely based upon the extensive production of beef and to a lesser extent, wool.

Commercial Vegetable Growing In The Perth Metropolitan Region, L T. Jones

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

MARKET gardening with sprinkler irrigation on deep sandy soils around Perth is really a commercial application of hydroponics or sand culture principles.

Provision of a continuous and adequate supply of nitrogen is the major problem. Peat swamps scattered among the sandy areas have higher natural fertility. However, their common problems are drainage, acidity ("sourness"), salt and various special soil deficiencies. Over-liming of acid swamps can cause new problems.

Granular Fertiliser, C R. Hale

Experimental Summaries - Plant Research

There is general agreement that granulation of fertilisers improves their physical characteristics with respect to handling, storage and distribution in the field. These physical advantages rather tan any established agronomic reason appear to be responsible for the increasing use of granular fertiliser.

Commercial Fertilizers For Winter Wheat In Relation To The Properties Of Nebraska Soils, R. A. Olson, H. F. Rhoades

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Research Bulletins

It is the purpose of this bulletin to report the investigations that have been made correlating soil properties and fertilization practices with yields of winter wheat. Since the success or failure of fertilization practices is so dependent on specific soil conditions, an attempt has been made here to further characterize the major soils of the different sections of the state which are devoted to wheat production and to analyze fertilizer practices and results in relation to the soil properties determined. The data are summarized for the four sections of the state designated as southeastern, east-south-central, west-south-central and western Nebraska. These …

Microorganisms And Soil Structure, T. M. Mccalla

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

SUMMARY

Laboratory tests were made to determine the effectiveness of different compounds and microbial groups in increasing the stability of Peorian loess lumps against the action of falling water drops. The influence of these on percolation tests in the laboratory was also determined.

Many organic substances-dextrose, sucrose, starch, peptone, cullulose, and gum arabic-did not themselves contribute directly to soil-structure stability, though these substances do furnish energy material for soil microorganisms, which can convert them readily into either microbial tissue or decomposition products that increase soil-structure stability. Lignin, proteins, oils, fats, waxes, resin, and paraffin increased the stability of lumps of …

Leaflet No 1003 - The Salt Problem In The Wheat Belt, G. H. Burvill

Bulletins 1 - 2999

IN the wheat belt of Western Australian bare patches in farm paddocks are often seen. Many are bare, or almost bare, because of too much salt in the soil. The excess of salt prevents the germination of seeds, or kills living plants, because it causes the water supply for germination or growth to be cut off. This salt problem is so serious in places that single farms or groups of farms have been ruined; wheat growing on them has become unprofitable.

Nitrate Production As Affected By Grain-Crop Residues On The Surface Of The Soil, T. M. Mccalla, J. C. Russel

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Research Bulletins

The purpose of this bulletin is to present the data on nitrate contents and nitrate production in tests where straw or stalk residues were left on the surface through subsurface tillage, as compared with check treatments where these residues were plowed under or were absent. Nine of these tests were at Lincoln, Nebraska, and one was at the Hastings, Nebraska, Hydrological Project. Two tests were conducted in 1939, four in 1941, and four in 1942.

A Proposed Method For Classifying And Evaluating Soils On The Basis Of Productivity And Use Suitabilities, Arthur Anderson, A. P. Nelson, F. A. Hayes, I. D. Wood

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Research Bulletins

It is the object of this paper to present a method for classifying and evaluating the soils as mapped in regular soil surveys on the basis of land types, which are here defined as areas having reasonably similar productivity and use suitabilities. The standards used to differentiate land types will vary according to the desired objectives, but any material difference in yield, or in practices necessary to maintain a desirable level of productivity will justify recognition of land types. The proposed procedure involves a more detailed study of the influence which soils, slope, erosion, and drainage have on specific crops …

The Effect Of Cultivation On Certain Chemical And Physical Properties Of Some South Dakota Soils, Oscar E. Olson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Soil Nutrient losses have followed closely in the paths of advancing frontiers in agriculture. Remedies for depletion as the result of overcropping were sought by George Washington, whose interest and investigation of soil nutrient losses probably represent the earliest attention given to land exploitation in the United States, which at the present time has become a problem of national concern. Soil losses have been attributed to a number of causes , among which are cropping, erosion, leaching, burning, and rapid oxidation of organic matter in the soil. Associated with soil nutrient losses, certain significant physical and chemical changes may occur …

Bulletin No. 109 - The Nitrogen And Humus Problem In Dry-Land Farming, Robert Stewart

UAES Bulletins

The effect of cultivation and the growth of crops upon the nitrogen and humus content of soils has been studied by various investigators, both in America and Europe. In general, the results of the various investigations indicate that cropping and cultivation are very destructive of the organic. matter and the nitrogen of the surface soil.

Bulletin No. 106 - A Study Of The Production And Movement Of Nitric Nitrogen In An Irrigated Soil, Robert Stewart, J. E. Greaves

UAES Bulletins

The problem of maintaining the nitrogen content in our agricultural soils is one of vital importance to the development of a permanent system of agriculture. Any investigation, therefore, which tends to throw any light on the conditions which are necessary for maintaining the maximum supply of nitrogen in our soils needs no apology for its institution.

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 …

The Effect Of Certain Methods Of Soil Treatment Upon The Corn Crop, T. L. Lyon

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Research Bulletins

The effect of certain methods of soil treatment upon the corn crop in Nebraska.

The Conservation Of Soil Moisture By Means Of Subsoil Plowing, T. L. Lyon

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Research Bulletins

Covers the conservation of soil moisture by means of subsoil plowing.