210 CROPS FOR ALKALI LAND 



according to Kearney (17). This crop is not well adapted 

 to the present economic conditions of the United States 

 and it is too troublesome in its seedling stage to gain popu- 

 larity with the American farmer. 



Grain crops have been tried under a great variety of 

 alkali conditions both as a grain and a forage crop. They 

 may successfully produce forage or green manure on land 

 too strongly impregnated with alkali to yield grain profit- 

 ably. During hot weather, unless the moisture conditions 

 are favorable, grain is likely to become shriveled and hard 

 where the so* contains considerable alkali. Under certain 

 other condu.cns the alkali may cause the plants to spend 

 most of their energy in leaf production rather than seed. 



Wheat has been grown for hay on land too strong for 

 alfalfa to either germinate or grow (27). According to 

 Kearney (17), the highest quantity of white alkali per- 

 missible for the successful production of wheat hay was 

 4000 to 6000 parts per million, while for a grain crop it 

 could successfully endure only 1000 to 4000 parts per 

 million. The author (6), however, found wheat doing 

 moderately well as a grain crop where the top foot of soil 

 contained 8756 parts per million of total salts, 1146 parts 

 per million of sodium carbonate, 1577 parts per million of 

 sodium chloride, and 5840 parts per million of sodium 

 .sulphate, the average salt content of the top four feet of 

 soil being 11,829 parts per million of total salts, 1121 

 parts per million of sodium carbonate, 2334 parts per 

 million of sodium chloride, and 7512 parts per million of 

 sodium sulphate. These quantities are the average of 

 determinations in four different fields in different sections 

 of Utah; enormous quantities of sulphates amounting in 

 some cases to 20,000 parts per million were found in soil 

 growing wheat, but where sodium chloride became a promi- 



