AGRONOMY 



During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1918, experimental work 

 in Agronomy has been carried on the Salt River Valley Farm 

 near Mesa, on the Prescott Dry-Farm near Prescott, on the Cochise 

 Dry-Farm near Cochise, and on the grounds of the Yuma Date 

 Orchard and Horticultural Station. Demonstration work along 

 agronomic lines on plats used for teaching purposes has been 

 carried on the University Farm near Tucson. 



SALT RIVER VALLEY FARM 



The experimental work with Johnson grass reported upon in the 

 Twenty-eighth Annual Report has been completed and results sum- 

 marized and published in Bulletin No. 84 by Professor H. C. Heard. 

 During the year covered by this report the work of the Salt River 

 Valley Farm has been more varied than in previous years. Corn, 

 long staple cotton, wheat, oats, barley, kafir, milo, hegari, darso, 

 sumac sorghum, feterita, Sudan grass, alfalfa, cowpeas, soy beans, 

 velvet beans, field peas, and several varieties of table beans have 

 been among the crops tested. In order to handle this large variety 

 of crops it has been necessary to double crop a considerable portion 

 of the land of the experiment farm. Practically all of the acreage 

 given to wheat during the winter and spring was planted during 

 the early summer to some one or more of the various legumes 

 mentioned above. A small portion of the wheat and barley land 

 was planted to kafir, milo, and other sorghum crops. We realize 

 that such a system of double cropping means a severe drain upon 

 the soil fertility, and provision has been made to maintain the soil 

 in good tilth and in a fertile condition by plowing under green 

 manure and by rotating the crops in a careful manner. Some long 

 time experiments covering this feature are now being arranged, 

 which in course of time will become valuable demonstrations for 

 the Salt River Valley and the State at large. 



During the season covered by this report one difficulty of 

 unusual severity has been encountered. This difficulty was the 

 extremely destructive work of the lesser corn stalk borer. Practi- 

 cally every variety of beans planted on the experiment farm during 

 the season was destroyed by this insect. Most of the varieties of 

 cowpeas were attacked to a lesser degree. All of the sorghums 

 were injured and in some cases the stand materially lessened. Ap- 

 parently due to the weakening of the stalks, a considerable portion 

 of the milo fell down and lodged badly just previous to harvest 



