20 CROPPING SYSTEMS FOB THE BLACK LANDS OF TEXAS. 



the corn was planted in the usual manner. Furthermore, in every 

 instance a better quahty of corn tl^n the average was reported. 

 With these modifications the rotation, corn and cowpeas, cotton, and 

 oats followed by cowpeas, becomes applicable over the greater part 

 of the black-land region. 



SUMMARY. 



(1) The farmers of the black-land region of Texas are seeking 

 information relative to cropping systems which will increase and 

 maintain soil fertility and make tlieir farms more profitable. 



(2) The price of black land has increased during the last 40 years 

 from a very low price to prices ranging from $50 to $200 per acre. 



(3) The original productiveness of much of the soil has been 

 greatly lessened by (1) the presence of a plant disease known as root- 

 rot, which is especially injurious to cotton and legumes, aiid (2) the 

 consequent absence of legumes from the rotations. 



(4) Though no practical remedy for Texas root-rot has yet been 

 discovered, its evil efl'ects may be largely overcome (1) by deep fall 

 plowing, (2) by the rotation of resistant with nonresistant crops, and 

 (3) by the incorporation of organic matter into the soil. 



(5) Legumes generally are not as much affected by root-rot as is 

 cotton. In a properly arranged rotation alfalfa and a number of 

 varieties of cowpeas can be grown to great advantage. Tests under 

 way inchcate that several other legumes will prove to be of great 

 service to the farmers either as hay or as soil improvers, notably cer- 

 tain varieties of soy beans. 



(6) Alfalfa is killed by root-rot in two to five years, causing many 

 farmers to decide that it is not a suitable crop for black lands. Expe- 

 rience, however, has proved that in many sections it pays to grow 

 alfalfa in a short rotation with grain, allowing it to remain on a field 

 about three years, or until destroyed by root-rot. and then plowing up 

 the meadow and reseeding another, to remain a similar length of time. 



(7) The yields of wheat, corn, oats, and cotton following alfalfa 

 in rotation are materially increased. 



(S) In a desirable cropping system for a black-land farm the Texas 

 root-rot is overcome, legumes are grown, the fertility of the soil is 

 increased and maintained, and the acreages of crops grown are so 

 arranged that ample crops of each may be produced from year to 

 year for the needs of the farm. 



(9) The rotation should be planned in such a manner that it can 

 be modified from time to time to meet changes in the weather and 

 other unexpected conditions without detracting from its value. 



(10) On most black-land farms a mixed rotation similar to the one 

 used by James Burns is most satisfactory, as it enables one easily to 

 adjust acreages of various crops. 



[Cir. 84] 



