1 



CROPS AND CROP TILLAGE. 27 



importance of interseason tillage becomes very great, while the ex- 

 tensive use of intertilled crops lessens the need of it materially. 



CROPS AND CROP TILLAGE. 



Wheat and alfalfa are practically the only crops groAvn without 

 irriiration in the Great Basin and, of the two, wheat is by far the 

 more extensively grown. Other cereals, such as oats, barley, and rye, 

 are grown in an experimental way, while such intertilled crops as 

 corn, sorghum, potatoes, and field peas are also being tested to a 

 limited extent. 



There are several varieties of wheat in common use both on the dry 

 lands and under irrigation. In fact, there has been but little at- 

 tempt to develop strains or varieties especially for the dry lands. 

 With a few exceptions, the wheats grown are fall-sown varieties of 

 bread wheat (Triticmn aestivum). They are nearly all light colored 

 and belong to the class known commercially as '• soft wheats." The 

 more popular varieties are known locally under the names of Loft- 

 house, Kofoid, and Gold Coin. 



On the State experiment farms a number of varieties of durum 

 wheat {Tiiticum durum) have been under experiment, together wath 

 some of the spring wheats of the type groAvn in the upper Mississippi 

 valley, such as Fife and Bluestem, and also some varieties of the 

 hard, red winter wheats, such as are commonly grown in Kansas 

 and Nebraska. These varieties are all regarded as still in the experi- 

 mental stage, and they have not yet found their way into general use 

 among farmers. 



Alfalfa is the standard forage crop of the Great Basin area, as it 

 is of the entire western United States. Among the people of Utah it 

 is known universally as " lucern," the name under which it was first 

 brought into the Eastern States, and which is derived from the com- 

 mon European name for the plant. This name was probably carried 

 westward to Utah by the early pioneers, who never accepted the Cali- 

 fornian name " alfalfa," which has been derived through the Spanish 

 from an Arabic word signifying " the best fodder." 



Alfalfa was first grown in the Great Basin only under irrigation, 

 but recently it has been tested rather extensively on the dry lands. 

 Apparently there has been no very serious effort made to secure 

 varieties especially adapted to these dry lands, but instead seed from 

 the irrigated land is harvested and put on the market, together with 

 any seed that may be grown on land without irrigation. 



The indications are that valuable drought-resistant varieties of 

 alfalfa could be developed in a very short time if proper attention 

 Avere given to selecting seed from individual plants or even from 

 some whole fields that appeared to thrive well on a limited supply of 



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