DEY-LAND GRAINS FOR NORTH AND SOUTH DAKOTA. 21 



soodin*:; in favorable years, the <?aiii will not make up for the loss that 

 is certain to ()(;cur in dry years. '^ 



TIME OF SEEDING WINTER WHEAT. 



A test to (letonnine the best time for seeding winter wlieat was 

 bejjjnn at the Bellefourehe experiment farm in the fall of 1907 and 

 has been eontinued to the present time. The plan of the experiment 

 involves sowing plats of the Turkey winter wheat at intervals of two 

 weeks, from August 15 to November 1. Suflicient data have not been 

 secured to state just wIkmi a farmer should sow his winter wheat to 

 secure the best results. Ai)])arently it is not usually advisable to 

 seed later than October 1, although good yields have been secured 

 by sowing later. In some localities and in some seasons the best 

 results will j)robalily be obtained from seeding much earlier. 



WINTER WHEAT AND SUMMER-FALLOW, WITH PARTICULAR 

 REFERENCE TO WESTERN SOUTH DAKOTA, 



The present indications are that if winter wheat is to become a 

 paving croji m w(>stern South Dakota it must be grown on land 

 summer-fallowed the previous season. This is due to the fact that 

 ordinarily the autumn rainfall is not sufficient to germinate the 

 grain and keep it growing vigorously until winter. Recent inves- 

 tigations at the Bellefourehe experiment farm indicate that the 

 amount of moisture in the soil from the time of seeding until winter, 

 and the resulting vigor of growth, are' very important factors in 

 determining the way in which the crop withstands the winter. They 

 are likewise important in determining the yield. 



A plat of the Turkey winter wheat (G. I. No. 3055) was sown on 

 corn ground in the fall of 1908, after the crop had been harvested 

 with a corn binder. This produced at the rate of 23.5 bushels per 

 acre, or 21 bushels less than the same variety sow^i on summer- 

 fallow. A plat was sown after corn in the fall of 1909. Because of 

 drv weather this failed to germinate, as did several other plats sown 

 on ground plowed a short time before seeding and not summer- 

 fallowed. In lOOS thu jilat on the corn ground was sown September 

 15, and in 1909 it was sown October 1. 



Throughout the northern Great l*lains the i)recipitation after 

 August is usually very low. It does not seem possible, except during 

 favorable years, to conserve enough moisture in the soil to germinate 

 and ))ro])rr]y maintain a crop of winter wheat until the ground 

 freezes by any means other than summer-fallowing. 



« For furthor information on the rate of seeding, see Bulletins 63 and 64, Montana 

 Agricultural Experiment Station: Bulletin 109, Nebraska Agricultural Experiment 

 Station; and Bulletin 74, North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station. 

 [Cir. 59] 



