240 



Kansas State Board of Agriculture. 



The plat fertilized with 2% tons of manure annually, produced an 

 average yield of 4239 pounds of hay; and the plat fertilized with 5 tons 

 of manure annually, produced an average yield of 5112 pounds of hay; 

 while the unfertilized plat produced an average of but 2384 pounds of 

 hay to the acre. An application of 2V 2 tons of manure increased the 

 yield 1855 pounds per acre annually, or 77 per cent, while an annual ap- 

 plication of 5 tons of manure increased the yield 2728 pounds, or 114 per 

 cent. The heavier application of manure gave the biggest increase in 

 yield, and would have been the most profitable if a large quantity of 

 manure had been available for use, but where manure is limited in amount 

 it is better to apply at the lighter rate and to cover a larger area. This is 

 readily seen when we see that the 2% -ton rate of application increased the 

 yield 1855 pounds per acre over the unmanured plat, while the 5-ton rate 

 of application increased the yield but 873 pounds over the 2% -ton ma- 

 nured plat. In other words, the first application of 2% tons of manure 

 increased the yield 1855 pounds, while the second 2V 2 tons of manure in- 

 creased the yield but 873 pounds. 



Rock phosphate applied at the rate of 380 pounds per acre annually 

 with 2 V 2 tons of manure, costing $2 for the rock phosphate, increased the 

 yield but 427 pounds per acre, which is not a sufficient increase in yield to 

 make its application profitable. Ground lime rock applied at the rate of 

 1000 pounds every four years on a plat receiving 2% tons of manure in- 

 creased the yield of hay 208 pounds per acre annually. This is not a 

 sufficient increase to make the use of lime profitable. 



COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS FOR ALFALFA. 



When barnyard manure is not available, some commercial fertilizer 

 rich in phosphorus, such as bone meal or acid phosphate, can usually be 

 used with profit in starting alfalfa on the poorer areas of soil in the 

 eastern third of the state. At the Kansas Experiment Station alfalfa 

 was seeded on a poor upland field in the fall of 1909. Upon one plat in 

 this field the alfalfa was fertilized with 190 pounds of acid phosphate 

 per acre each year. This quantity of acid phosphate supplied fourteen 

 pounds of phosphorus annually, and cost $2 per acre. Another plat ad- 

 joining was unfertilized. The following table gives the results of this 

 trial: 



TABLE No. 26. Effect of phosphorus applied in add phosphate on alfalfa. Season 1910-1913. 



