Soil Science Commons^™

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.

Care Of Autumn And Winter Tomato Crops, W H. Kooyman

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

I N recent years there has been a considerable increase in plantings of autumn and winter tomatoes in the Perth metropolitan market garden area.

Light Lands In Western Australia. 1. History And Future Prospects, F L. Shier

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

BECAUSE of the scattered distribution of light lands of the agricultural areas of Western Australia among the better soils, and their large total area, it is not surprising that attempts to develop these unattractive soils for agriculture started many years ago.

Good Pasture On A Problem Soil, R Sprivulis

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

The acid peaty sands of the South-West have always been problem soils, and are often considered useless.

But, by following recommended establishment methods, farmers like Mr. F. E. Bellanger, of Nornalup, have shown that it can carry valuable pasture.

Orchard Drainage, R G. Cahill

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

UNDERGROUND drainage of orchard land is an essential feature of fruitgrowing which is overlooked by many orchardists.

Soils should be adequately drained to cope with all winter rains.

Establishing Saltland Pastures, C V. Malcolm

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

WITH the approach of winter, thoughts are turning to the seeding season. It will therefore be appropriate to discuss methods of establishing saltland pastures.

This discussion will be restricted to "bluebush," creeping saltbush, and old man saltbush. Seed of these plants is available from local stock firms.

Potassium Deficiency In Medium Rainfall Areas, William John Toms

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

IT is well known that potassic fertilisers must be used for the successful growth of subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.) on many soils in the higher rainfall districts of Western Australia.

Recent investigations have shown that some soils in medium rainfall districts are also too low in potassium to grow healthy subterranean clover pastures.

Healthy Pastures, F E. Ryan

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

IN sweeping away forests to make room for pastures we have taken on the responsibility of maintaining these areas in a condition suitable for the growth of pasture plants.

This is done by a choice of suitable species, fertilising, cultivating, drainage, control of grazing and by weed and insect control.

The Use Of Lime In Market Gardens, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

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

THE term "lime" when used in relation to agriculture means any calcium containing material that is capable of correcting soil acidity.

While generally used for this purpose, lime has many other equally important functions in the soil.

Salty Seepages Can Be Productive, C V. Malcolm

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

MUCH has been said and written concerning the use of Paspalum vaginatum for growing on seepage areas, but the general production to be expected from seepage areas has not received much attention.

The fact is that properly handled, seepage areas can be quite productive, and can be valuable for summer grazing.

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 Influence Of Soil Moisture Suction And Evaporative Demand On Actual Evapotranspiration And Yield Of Alfalfa, Bozorg Bahrani

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Evapotranspiration has been defined as the combination of evaporation of water from the soil surface and transpiration of water by vegetation. If the ground is well covered by plants, most of the water is lost by transpiration of water directly from the plant tissue, rather than by evaporation of water directly from the soil surface. The term consumptive use is synonymous with evapotranspiration.

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.

Influence Of Various Factors On Aggregation Of Peorian Loess By Microorganisms, T. M. Mccalla, Francis A. Haskins, E. F. Frolik

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Soil structure is important in the attainment of adequate aeration for the aerobic microorganisms whose activities maintain such higher plant nutrients as sulfur, phosphorus, and nitrogen in a highly oxidized and thus readily available state. Good soil structure is also necessary for soil and water conservation, Under Nebraska conditions microorganisms and their decomposition products constitute a major source of soil-aggregating agents. The decomposition of crop residues and plant roots is important in the nutrition of these aggregating microorganisms. Other microorganisms, however, also utilize crop residues and plant roots, and they may decompose the aggregating agents as well, so that the …

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.

Economic Analysis Of Forage Production And Utilization In Dakota And Dixon Counties, Nebraska, Howard W. Ottoson

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Research Bulletins

Soil erosion remains a serious problem on many Nebraska farms despite programs of financial assistance, technical aid, and education by several national and state agencies. One reason that soil conserving adjustments in land use have not been made by farmers is that considerable uncertainty surrounds the economics of soil erosion control on the farm level. This study is an attempt to increase knowledge and reduce some of the uncertainty with regard to the economics of erosion control in a specific area.

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 …

Ionic Exchange In Soils: I. Measurement Of The Exchange Reaction By Means Of An Ion Exchange, D. A. Brown

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Stubble Mulching On Number And Activity Of Earthworms, S. P. Teotia, F. L. Duley, T. M. Mccalla

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Research Bulletins

A survey of earthworm population under different cropping systems was made under stubble mulch farming and where the residue was plowed under. The influence of earthworms on some of the important physical and biological properties of the soil was studied. Their role in the decomposition of crop residues was also determined.

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.

Preliminary Report On Subtratum Temperature Studies On Root Growth, Stanley W. Oexemann

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Vegetation Of The Northern Part Of Cherry County, Nebraska, William L. Tolstead

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

Agricultural practices in the Great Plains of North America are now in a period of adjustment from a traditional agriculture initiated by pioneer farmers to a grazing economy based upon potentialities of climate and soil. The attainment of a proper system of land use has been retarded in many localities by the lack of definite information concerning the vegetation and its indicator significance. In this study of the vegetation of Cherry County, Nebraska, the interrelations between the plants and their environments are discussed, the dominant species are described, and changes in grasslands caused by seasons, grazing, and climatic cycles are …

The Geographic Distribution Of Azotobacter And Rhizobium Meliloti In Nebraska Soils In Relation To Certain Environmental Factors, H. B. Peterson, T. H. Goodding

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Research Bulletins

In this investigation a survey of Nebraska soils has been made in order to determine the distribution of the aerobic nonsymbiotic and symbiotic nitrogen fixers of the genera Azotobacter and Rhizobium respectively. In connection with this survey, some of the characteristics of the soils which may bring about this distribution were studied. Up to this time practically no research has been reported on the microflora of the soils of Nebraska. Hence there is little basis for predicting the activity of these organisms under environmental conditions as they exist here. It is hoped that this work will not only supply some …

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 …