Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons^™

Bulletin No. 131 - Variety Tests Of Field Crops In Utah, Frank S. Harris, J. C. Hogenson

UAES Bulletins

The number of varieties of practically all the field crops is now very great, and is increasing every year. Each variety has certain growers who believe in it and who do what they can to make it more widely grown. As a result many varieties of crops are found in most every farming community.

This condition is often bad, since it is impossible to build up a good market with a great mixture of varieties of any crop. A much better price can be obtained if each community offers for sale large quantities of a few standard types, rather than …

Bulletin No. 132 - Minor Dry Land Crops At The Nephi Experiment Farm, P. V. Cardon

UAES Bulletins

The investigations conducted at the Nephi substation deal primarily with cereals; other crops, such as alfalfa, peas, corn, potatoes, etc., have occupied only a secondary position in the work of this station. This necessarily has been true because the experiments are confined to dry-land practices, and the cereals unquestionably comprise the basal crops for dry-land farming as it is now understood and practiced in Utah. No crops have been found as yet which yield so profitably on the dry lands as do the cereals, especially winter varieties.

The purpose of this bulletin is to review the work done on the …

The Inheritance Of A Recurring Somatic Variation In Variegated Ears Of Maize, R. A. Emerson

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Research Bulletins

The inheritance of variegation has special interest and importance in genetics. In this paper I shall present data from maize and attempt to show how they can be interpreted in strictly Mendelian terms.

Bulletin No. 130 - The Change In Weight Of Grain In Arid Regions During Storage, Frank S. Harris, George Thomas

UAES Bulletins

In handling grain the question of the changes that may occur in weight after threshing is always before the dealer. If there is any considerable loss during storage his profits are consumed, while if there is a gain it is possible for him to work on a much closer margin.

The Inheritance Of A Recurring Somatic Variation In Variegated Ears Of Maize, R. A. Emerson

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The inheritance of variegation has special interest and importance in genetics. It is with forms of variegation that the only two certainly known cases of non-Mendelian inheritance have had to do. I refer to Baur's experiments with Pelargonium, in which crosses of green-leaved and white-leaved forms exhibited somatic segregations in F₁ that bred true in later generations, and to Correns 's work with Mirabilis, which showed green and white leaf color, to be inherited through the mother only. De Vries's con- ception of "ever-sporting" varieties was apparently founded largely upon the behavior of variegated flowers in pedigree …

Multiple Factors Vs. "Golden Mean" In Size Inheritance, R. A. Emerson

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Groth's preliminary note on the "golden mean" in the inheritance of sizes in SCIENCE of April 17, 1914, pp. 581-584, deserves the attention of geneticists. Its publication is of such recent date that I need only call attention to one or two points that seem to me of particular moment.

In brief, Groth's hypothesis is that the mode

of inheritance in F_l not only of surfaces and

volumes, but also of linear dimensions is to be

expressed by √ab rather than by a + b /2

where a and b are parent sizes. The hypothesis

is based upon …

Bulletin No. 128 - Blooming Periods And Yields Of Fruit In Relation To Minimum Temperatures, A. B. Ballantyne

UAES Bulletins

As noted In Bulletin 124, the Southern Utah Experiment Farm is located in Washington Field, southeast of St. George. This tract of land is comparatively low and flat and bounded on three sides by hills. On the front or north side it extends to the Rio Virgin river, which enters and leaves the valley through small canyons. This entire area has a very poor water and air drainage. Frosts occur here much more severely and much later than on the surrounding bench land.

Bulletin No. 126 - A Comparison Of First, Second And Third Crop Alfalfa Hay For Milk Production, W. E. Carroll

UAES Bulletins

In most sections of the State three crops of alfalfa hay are harvested. There is a widespread opinion among practical feeders in this locality that these crops of hay are not of equal value for feeding purposes. Especially is this true when feeding dairy cows is considered. The belief is so strong in some cases that farmers have said they would exchange three tons of second crop hay for two of first crop when feeding milk cows. Third crop hay is given second choice.

Bulletin No. 124 - Fruit Variety Tests On The Southern Utah Experiment Farm, A. B. Ballantyne

UAES Bulletins

Since the material contained in the following report of the variety tests on the Southern Utah Experiment Farm was mainly accumulated under plans outlined before the farm was made part of the Utah Experiment Station, it may be well in this connection to give a brief history of its location, management, and a survey of its situation. It was established by an act of the State Legislature approved March 21, 1899, and the site was chosen the following July by a committee appointed by Governor Heber M. Wells. The area selected consists of forty acres located in the southeastern portion …

The Inheritance Of Quantitative Characters In Maize, R. A. Emerson, E. M. East

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Research Bulletins

The experiments conducted by one of the writers were begun at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station at New Haven in 1906 and removed to the Bussey Institution of Harvard University at Forest Hills, Massachusetts, in 1909. The materials employed in this study consisted principally of crosses of Tom Thumb pop with Black Mexican sweet and of Watson flint with Leaming dent. The number of rows per ear were noted in several other crosses, the parents of which are listed later in this paper. The experiments of the other writer were begun at the Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station at Lincoln in …

Shorter Articles And Discussion Simplified Mendelian Formulae, R. A. Emerson

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

I was somewhat surprised by 'Morgan's and Castle's suggestions for a simplification of Mendelian formulae. My surprise was not occasioned so much by the forms these suggestions took as by the fact that any pronounced changes were deemed necessary. I had not only employed the usual formula in my own work but had found no difficulty worth mentioning in understanding the formula used by most other workers in Mendelian fields. My experience with students in elementary courses in genetics had not prepared me for the idea that such formula were particularly difficult. Nevertheless I believe in simplifying the formulae if …

The Possible Origin Of Mutations In Somatic Cells, R. A. Emerson

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

That mutations are accompanied by some change in the germ-plasm is, I take it, indisputable. Have we, however, any reason to suppose that the change takes place within the germ cells? I am not sure, as a matter of fact, that genetists in general regard the gametes as the place of origin of mutations. It is true, however, that experiments in the artificial production of mutations in plants have been limited largely to treatments of the ovaries from about the time of the reduction division to about the time of fertilization. This suggests a belief on the part of investigators …

Shorter Articles And Reports: The Simultaneous Modification Of Distinct Mendelian Factors, R. A. Emerson

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

In another paper on the inheritance of a recurring somatic variation in variegated ears of maize, it was shown that the amount of red color developed in the pericarp of variegated seeds bears a definite relation to the development of color in the progeny of such seeds. The relation is such that the more color there is in the pericarp of the seeds planted the more likely are they to produce plants with wholly self-red ears and correspondingly the less likely to produce plants with variegated ears. Self-red ears thus produced behave just as if they were hybrids between self-red …

Bulletin No. 120 - The Chemical Composition Of Crops As Affected By Different Quantities Of Irrigation Water, John A. Widtsoe, Robert Stewart

UAES Bulletins

In earlier bulletins it has been shown that when the quantity of irrigation water applied to crops is varied, the yields of the total crop as well as of the several plant parts vary quite definitely. The readiness with which plants respond to differences in irrigation is really remarkable and undoubtedly lies at the foundation of the future science of irrigation.

Variations in the quantities of irrigation water not only affect the total yield of dry matter, but also the composition of the plant itself. This fact was brought out many years ago in the investigations of this Station.

Bulletin No. 116 - The Production Of Dry Matter With Different Quantities Of Irrigation Water, John A. Widtsoe

UAES Bulletins

The second period of the irrigation investigations of the Utah Experiment Station began in 1901, when plans were formulated for accurate and extensive studies of the relations to each other of soils, crops and water. Preliminary work was done on the College Farm during the summer of 1901. During the winter of 1901-02, the Greenville Farm was secured, and on it was constructed a system of weirs, flumes and laterals, whereby accurately measured quantities of water could be placed at will upon any plat. With this apparatus a great number of vital questions concerning the practice of irrigation was submitted …

Bulletin No. 117 - The Yields Of Crops With Different Quantities Of Irrigation Water, John A. Widtsoe, L. A. Merrill

UAES Bulletins

The value of an irrigated farm rests In the land and in the water available for irrigation. Usually the water right for an acre is worth considerably more than the land itself. Under irrigation it is just as important to secure the largest yield per unit of water as it is to obtain the largest yield per acre. Owing to the high cost of water, the production per unit of water is frequently more important than the yield per acre. In Utah and the other irrigated states, the water available for irrigation, or that which may be made available, is …

Bulletin No. 118 - Methods For Increasing The Crop Producing Power Of Irrigation Water, John A. Widtsoe, L. A. Merrill

UAES Bulletins

The studies of the Utah Station on the effect of water on the yields of crops have shown, first, that as the water applied increases, the total weight of dry matter also increases; and second, that the increase is not in proportion to the amount of water applied, since the less water applied, the larger the yield of dry matter for each inch of water used. These experiments, as reported in bulletins No. 116 and No. 117 indicate with much certainty the best quantities of water to use for various crops. When, however, each farmer has been allotted this best …

The Unexpected Occurrence Of Aleurone Colors In F2 Of A Cross Between Non-Colored Varieties Of Maize, R. A. Emerson

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Before the Mendelian methods of analysis became available, considerable wonder would doubtless have been excited by the "mysterious" appearance in F₂ of one colored grain-purple or red-to every five or six white ones in case of a maize cross, both parents and F, of which had only white grains. An occurrence of this sort has recently been noted in one of my maize cultures and the F2 numbers are explained here as a trihybrid or tetrahybrid ratio. The crosses in question were made primarily for a study of size inheritance and fairly large numbers have been grown. The varieties …

Discussion And Correspondence Coupling Vs. Random Segregation, R. A. Emerson

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

To the editor of science: The suggestion offered by Morgan, in SCIENCE of September 22, to account for the coupling and repulsion of factors for various characters in inheritance in such forms as Abraxas, Drosophila, fowls, sweet peas, etc., incites this note.

Briefly Morgan's hypothesis is (1) that the materials representing factors that couple are "near together in a linear series" in the chromosomes; (2) that, when pairs of parental chromosomes conjugate, "like regions stand opposed "; (3) that "homologous chromosomes twist around each other," but that the separation of chromosomes is in a single "plane"; (4) that, thereby the …

Bulletin No. 111 - The Reclamation Of Seeped And Alkali Lands, C. F. Brown, R. A. Hart

UAES Bulletins

In the year 1905, Drainage Investigations were begun in the State of Utah by the Office of Experiment Stations of the United States Department of Agriculture, in co-operation with the Utah Experiment Station. Appropriations have been made by the Utah State Legislature for irrigation and drainage investigations on condition that the United 8tates Department of Agriculture contribute an equal amount, and that the work be conducted jointly by the Federal department and the experiment station of the Agricultural College of Utah.

Bulletin No. 113 - The Influence Of The Combined Harvester On The Value Of The Wheat, Robert Stewart, C. T. Hirst

UAES Bulletins

The extension of the dry-farming area in Utah and the bringing of many thousands of acres of virgin land under wheat cultivation, in large farms, has, in recent years, caused much improvement in the use of farm machinery. One great improvement has been the adoption of the Combined Harvester, which cuts, threshes and sacks the grain in one operation in the field at a minimum of cost. This has been an important factor in the success of the dry-farming movement.

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. 108 - The Effect Of Formalin On The Vitality Of Seed Grain, Robert Stewart, John Stephens

UAES Bulletins

The Utah Experiment Station for a number of years has recommended the formalin treatment for the prevention of smut in wheat, oats and barley. Since the publication of Bulletin No. 84 by Prof. L. A. Merrill on the Subject, a number of complaints regarding the treatment have been received. We learned, also, by traveling over the state, that these complaints were quite general. The work reported in this bulletin was undertaken for the purpose of throwing light on these questions, and it is hoped that the results obtained will be of value to the farmers of the state.

The Inheritance Of Sizes And Shapes In Plants, R. A. Emerson

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Some years ago Lock reported a cross of a tall race of maize with a shorter race which produced an intermediate height in F₁ and exhibited no segregation in F₂ when crossed back with one of the parents. Castle's results with rabbits are very similar to those of Lock with maize. Castle summarizes his results in part as follows:

A cross between rabbits differing in ear-length produces offspring with ears of intermediate length, varying about the mean of the parental ear-lengths. . . . A study of the offspring of the primary cross-breds shows the blend of the …

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. 105 - Factors Influencing Evaporation And Transpiration, John A. Widtsoe

UAES Bulletins

The irrigation investigations conducted by the Utah Experiment Station, some of the results of which form this *report, were undertaken for the purpose of adding to our knowledge of the natural laws upon which the art of irrigation may be safely built. The work has had for its dirrect object the study of the mutual relations of plants, soils and water, as these relations may indicate the most economic use of water for plant production. In pursuit of the investigations it became necessary not only to follow the movement of water in soils under irrigation conditions, but to determine also …

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 …

Bulletin No. 103 - Milling Qualities Of Meat, Robert Stewart, Joseph E. Greaves

UAES Bulletins

Investigations regarding the chemical and milling characteristics of some of the various varieties of wheat grown in the State have been carried on since the season of 1904. This is, however, the first report of the investigations that has been published. The work was started with the hope of assisting in the determination of the varieties of wheat best adapted to the State. While, of course, the variety which does not yield well but which has excellent chemical and milling characteristics is not desirable, yet on the other hand, as has already been so often pointed out, neither is the …

Irrigation Farming: A Handbook For The Proper Application Of Water In The Production Of Crops, Lucius M. Wilcox

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

A handbook for the application of water in the production of crops.

Bulletin No. 97 - Report On The Southern Utah Experiment Station, R. S. Northrop, Joseph T. Atkin, P. A. Yoder

UAES Bulletins

When, in the early part of the year 1905 , the management of the Southern Utah Experiment Farm was turned over to the officials of the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station, in compliance with an act of the legislature of that year a number of experiments were under way, principally variety tests with orchard and small fruit. The State Board of Horticulture had been in charge of this farm since its establishment in 1899, and had succeeded in making out of it not only a place that will indicate the varieties of fruits adapted to that climate and soil , but …