194 CROPS FOR ALKALI LAND 



and other plants which shade the soil during the great 

 part of the season are preferable to those like grain which 

 leave the land unshaded during spring and again during 

 fall. Beets, fruits, and other crops that are grown in 

 rows and require cultivation are useful because of the 

 mulching, which helps check surface accumulations of 

 alkali. For this purpose it is better to have annual crops 

 which allow the ridges to be leveled down occasionally 

 than perennials which allow alkali to accumulate at the 

 top of the ridges year after year instead of being washed 

 out of the soil. 



The nature of the soil also has some influence on the 

 choice of crops. With a lifeless clay it is preferable to 

 grow some crop such as rye rather than one like beets 

 which requires considerable organic matter and much 

 working of the soil to produce a satisfactory crop. It is 

 frequently profitable to raise rye as a green manure crop 

 to improve the soil conditions before a more exacting 

 crop is grown. A soil without good drainage and where 

 artificial drainage is impractical may often be planted to 

 some of the more resistant forage or meadow grasses which 

 will endure water-logged conditions. Soils with con- 

 siderable organic matter are frequently more moist and 

 the alkali apparently less toxic than in the ordinary alkali 

 soil so that more profitable and less resistant crops may 

 prove best. 



It is unfortunate that the most tolerant cultivated crops 

 are not well adapted to grow in the climate of most parts 

 of the United States where alkali is found. The date 

 palm, which is perhaps the most tolerant crop for soils 

 containing chloride and sulphate salts, rice, cotton, ber- 

 seem clover, and several other desirable crops are adapted 

 only to the warmer alkali regions. Australian salt-bush, 



