1910] FIELD CROPS. '>-'.) 



Nebraska and Kansas under normal conditions, while under severe winter con- 

 ditions ihr Dakota and Montana seed bas proved t" i"- somewhat superior. 

 Tlie largest yields of alfalfa and the smallesl percentage of failures were 

 reported by farmers growing the crop on Loam soil with clay or sandy subsoil, 

 the greatest percentage of failures occurring en sandy and stiff clay soils. 

 Approximately 40 per cent of all failures are said to have been due to a lack 

 of Inoculation or of lime, while 15 per cent were due to smothering by the 

 nurse crop and 12 per cent to winterkilling. 



To insure a stand of red clover when seeded with a small grain nurse crop, 

 it is suggested that the grain be drilled in at a rate of not more than 'J bu. 

 per acre. Iowa 105 oats is deemed far superior to all other varieties as a 

 nurse crop. The removal of tin' grain crop for hay when in the milk si. 

 often resulted ill an excellent stand of clover when under similar conditions, 

 hut with the grain allowed to mature the clover failed. 



[Report of work with field crops in Kansas, 1917] (Kansas Sta. Bpt. 1917, 

 pp. /? 19, ..'/, 28, .'). 25, 81, 82, 89, J,0-J,2, ,}'/, 45-47, /,S.)— This describes the 

 continuation along the same general lines of work previously noted (E. S. It., 

 38, p. G30). 



In tests of various methods of seed bed preparation for wheat the highest 

 yield, 8.25 bu. per acre, was produced on the plat listed July 15 with the ridges 

 subsequently worked down. Seasonal moisture and nitrate studies are said 

 to indicate that nitrification is correlated with the actual available moisture 

 during the summer, that the available moisture is controlled by cultivation 

 through the prevention of weed growth, and that weeds not only waste soil 

 moisture but utilize the nitrates developed, preventing an accumulation for 

 the tall growth of wheat. 



As a result of three years' observation on the effectiveness of soil mulches, 

 it has been concluded that a cultivated soil surface is no more effective than 

 a bare surface in cheeking evaporation, that nitrification may occur at the 

 same rate on uncultivated soils with a bare surface as on cultivated soils, 

 that weeds deplete the soil moisture and plant food, and that cultivation should 

 aim at keeping the soil in a receptive condition for rainfall and at preventing 

 w eed growth. 



Kanred wheat continued to give increased yields over the standard varieties, 

 producing nearly 11 bu. per acre more than Turkey and S.5 bu. more than 

 Kharkof. Average yields for <> years in field tests amounted to 31.1, 2G.5, and 

 25.9 bu. per acre, respectively. Kanred is also said to be a superior variety 

 for growing on all soil types throughout the hard wheat belt of the State. In 

 54 cooperative tests extending over three years Kanred gave an average 

 increase of 4.4 bu. per acre over the local varieties. 



A promising strain of oats has been isolated which is said to be much earlier 

 and appears to be more productive than Red Texas. The kind of soil and its 

 moisture content is held to have a very definite, though complex, relation to 

 soil temperature and winterkilling in cereals. Seeding in furrows gave marked 

 protection to grain during the winter. 



Corn plats scraped to remove the weeds and those cultivated in the ordinary 

 way gave practically the same yields, while plats cultivated every 10 days 

 after the corn was laid by gave the lowest yields. Hybrid strains of corn gen- 

 erally gave higher yields than the average of the parents but not enough 

 higher to justify the extra cost. Several hybrid strains grown at Manhattan 

 showed superior drought resistance during the season of 191(> when there was 

 a moisture deficiency of G.-O in., all of which occurred in July and August 

 Cooperative tests with corn are said to have demonstrated that acclimated va- 

 rieties are superior to introduced varieties and that the longer a variety is 



