University of Arizona 295 



3300 pounds per acre. It did not pay for the time and labor ex- 

 pended on it. 



It is planned to change the cropping system on this farm some- 

 what, omitting the growing of much corn or small grains and de- 

 pending mainly upon certain of the quickest maturing and most 

 drought resistant sorghums for silage purposes, maintaining the 

 fertility of the soil by the use of legumes plowed under as green 

 manure. Some experiments will be carried to determine the le- 

 gumes most satisfactory for this purpose, but unless others are 

 found which prove good, tcpary beans and cow peas will be used. 



During the season the Giant Powder Company of Los Angeles 

 furnished dynamite and a supervisor for the work, and one acre of 

 ground was dynamited for the purpose of breaking up the hard 

 strata of subsoil called caliche. This dynamiting was done on 15 

 feet centers in holes from 23/2 to 3j^ feet deep, varying with the 

 depth of the caliche, and using one-half stick of dynamite in each 

 hole. It is planned to grow the same crop on this dynamited acre 

 and on an undynamited adjoining acre for a period of three years, 

 comparing the yields of the dynamited and undynamited area. 

 Freed's sorghum was planted for this purpose this year, but due 

 to the dry season neither area made a growth sufficient to be 

 harvested. 



YUMA DATE ORCHARD AND HORTICULTURAL 



STATION 



A limited amount of experimental work was carried on the 

 Yuma Date Orchard and Horticultural Station. The following 

 varieties of sorghums were tested following wheat : Dwarf niilo, 

 hegari, kafir, feterita, Sumac sorghum, Collier sorghum. Honey 

 Drip, and White African. Every one of these varieties made a 

 first class growth. The milo made an excellent grain yield and, 

 as was the case in the Salt River Valley, the hegari was the most 

 promising of any grain sorghum. Of the sweet sorghums Honey 

 Drip made a very heavy growth of forage of good quality and was- 

 perhaps the best. Sumac sorghum ranked second altho it fell 

 down rather badly. 



Some plantings of flax gave considerable promise and will be 

 carried further next year. Two varieties of buckwheat made a 

 small growth but from the practical standpoint were without value. 

 A most excellent green manure crop of tepary beans was grown. 

 A considerable number of vetch varieties were planted in the fall of 



