22 Experiment Station Bulletin 367 



The other series (plots 47-80) present a much more interesting his- 

 tory and a wider range of data. These plots were seeded in 1937, and 

 have been harvested each year since. Data for the first four years were 

 published in Station Circular 61. 



Those plots which were treated with potash each year since seeding 

 outyielded the current series about 700 pounds of cured hay per acre. In 

 a similar comparison, the PK and NPK plots with the corresponding 

 treatments of 0-20-20 and 8-16-16 fertilizer respectively, the PK out- 

 yielded its counterpart by almost 1500 pounds per acre, and the NPK 

 outyielded the 8-16-16 by 1600 pounds per acre. The results favor ade- 

 quate annual top-dressing each year during the life of the stand, so that 

 desirable plants responsive to fertilization will be retained. 



The second point of note is the effect on yield where superphosphate 

 and potash are used together in contrast to the use of potash alone. As 

 a four-year average, the PK plots yielded a little over a ton more per acre 

 than those which received potash alone. Furthermore, the percentage 

 of clover in the plots treated with phosphoric acid and potash without 

 nitrogen were high, the actual percentages being 49 and 34 in the PK and 

 0-20-20 plots respectively, whereas in the complete fertilizer plots the 

 percentages were but 9, 10, and 20 respectively. This indicates an un- 

 favorable effect of nitrogen on the persistence or appearance of clover 

 in old hay stands and may foreshadow a change in recommendations for 

 hay top-dressing grades from the 1-1-1 ratio now in use or the 1-2-2 ratio 

 used in this test to one with a much wider N to PK ratio or even one 

 with no nitrogen at all. 



F. S. Prince, P. T. Blood 



Seed Production Possibilities of Forage Crops 



Seed production possibilities of timothy, red clover, and Ladino clo- 

 ver have been investigated. In addition to the methods of handling and 

 of yield possibilities, the experiment involves multiplying certain new 

 clover and timothy strains that have developed in the breeding program. 

 Two strains of timothy, four of red clover, and one of Ladino were 

 threshed. 



Timothy was harvested with a 40-inch AC combine in the field. Red 

 clover was cut with a mower and windrower attachment, then allowed to 

 lie on the ground until curing was fairly complete. It was then threshed 

 with the AC 40-inch combine equipped with a pick-up attachment. 



Ladino was cut with a windrower and dried indoors. This method 

 of drying did not prove satisfactory as the quantity harvested was too 

 large to cure properly in the space available. Unused greenhouse benches 

 proved to be the best place for indoor drying; the germination of the seed 

 produced is better than when the drying was slower in a house under a 

 roof. After drying, the Ladino foliage was run through a hammermill 

 and then cleaned with an old clipper fanning mill. Cleaning the Ladino 

 seed has been finally completed by using the rotary scour-kleen sieve of 

 the combine. 



Field data are not complete since not all the seed has been re-cleaned, 

 but preliminary estimates indicate that the acre yield for the three crops 



