WORK OF THE SCOTTSBLUFF EXPERIMENT FARM IN 1912. 



19 



a difference of 6 bushels per acre. With oats the average yield on 

 the fall-irrigated land was 81.5 bushels per acre, and only 65.7 bush- 

 els on land not fall irrigated, a difference of 15.8 bushels in favor 

 of fall irrigation. The barley yielded an average of 40.1 bushels 

 per acre on fall-irrigated land and 28.5 bushels per acre on the land 

 not fall irrigated, the difference being 11.0 bushels per acre. On 

 account of the beets having been blown out and having to be reseeded, 

 the yield was very small, the average for fall irrigation being 13.3 

 tons per acre, against 12.6 tons for land not fall irrigated. The yields 

 of corn and potatoes were about even for the two methods, the differ- 

 ence being so small that it can not be attributed to irrigation. 



Pig, 5.— Plats used in the test of fall irrigation. This test included potatoes, sugar 

 beets, wheat, oats, barley, and corn. The fall irrigation of the land increased the 

 yields of all these crops except corn and potatoes. 



SUGAR BEETS. 



The work with sugar beets has included tests of depth of plowing, 

 cultivation methods, time of irrigation, and distance of thinning. 

 The plats were plowed, respectively, 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20 inches deep. 

 The deepest plowing gave the lowest yield and the shallow plowing 

 the highest. The previous crop on this soil was sorghum. The culti- 

 vation no doubt left the soil in a better and looser condition than 

 it would have been if an untilled crop had been grown. This doubt- 

 less accounts in part for the much higher yield of the shallow break- 

 ing. The yield of the land plowed 4 inches deep was 20.5 tons per 

 acre, as compared with 16.5 tons for the land plowed 20 inches deep. 



Cultivation of beets. — Three methods Avere followed: Deep culti- 

 vation at first and shallower at each succeeding cultivation, 3-inch 

 cultivation throughout the season, and shallow cultivation through- 

 out the season. The yields obtained were, respectively. 17.6, 16.6, 



[Cir. 116] 



