Soils Conference Emphasizes 

 Crop Hunger In Illinois 



THE good old days when fields were 

 high without regard to soil care are 

 gone. Dr. E. E. DeTurk of the Uni- 

 versity of Illinois college of agriculture 

 told a large group of farmers attending 

 the soil improvement conference in Oii- 

 cago Nov. 28. 



The conference was held in conjunc- 

 tion with the 31st annual meeting of the 

 Illinois Agricultural Association. 



Dr. DeTurk dramatized the importance 

 of his subject, "Hunger Signs in Crops," 

 by comparing the effects of soil food 

 (kficiencies in plants with the effects on 

 humans of deficiency diets. 



He also illustrated graphically the 

 benefits of a balanced soil food program 

 wjth picture slides of sick and healthy 

 plants. 



Other speakers on the program in- 

 cluded Manager C. H. Becker of the Il- 

 linois Farm Supply Company who dis- 

 cussed the "Outlook for Plant Food Sup- 

 ply," and John R. Spencer, lAA director 

 of soil improvement, who explained the 

 activities of the soil improvement depart- 

 ment. 



In his talk. Dr. DeTurk listed the 14 

 known essential elements in corn and 

 from there proceeded to explain the gen- 

 eral state of Illinois soil in relation to 

 each element and the deficiency disease 

 symptoms in corn lacking in the element. 



Taking potassium as one of his ex- 

 amples, he explained that a plant cannot 

 live without this element which is ab- 

 sorbed only through direct contact with 

 the roots of the plant. Potassium ex- 

 haustion is evident, he said, in the 

 leached soils of southern Illinois and the 

 alkali lands of central and northern Il- 

 linois. 



Potassium deficiency symptoms listed 

 by Dr. DeTurk included actual plant 

 death in early stages of growth where 

 deficiency is severe, growth stunted with 

 leaves close together, and stalks weak, 

 often breaking over. If an ear forms it 

 may be pollinated but the best seeds are 

 at the butt becoming more and more 

 chaffy toward the tip. 



Director Spencer pointed out the no- 

 table increases in consumption of fer- 

 tilizers in Illinois which amounted to 31 

 per cent more agricultural limestone and 

 25 per cent more rock phosphate than 



the previous year. During the calendar 

 year 1944, he said, Illinois farmers used 

 4,214,000 tons of limestone — 20 per 

 cent of the nation's consumption. 



The five high counties in limestone 

 consumption in 1944 were Lee, La Salle, 

 Bureau, Henry and Livingston. 



Spencer explained the routine opera- 

 tions of the department including the 

 periodic testing of fertilizers at quarry 

 sources. He revealed that the standards 

 of limestone quality in most parts of Il- 

 linois are good. 



Becker emphasized the increasing ac- 

 ceptance of regular plant food applica- 

 tions to the land in Illinois by pointing 

 out the greater purchases of commercial 

 fertilizers in 1945 compared with 10 

 years ago. 



He predicted the purchase of even 

 greater tonnages of fertilizers in 1946 

 by Illinois farmers, estimated at 230,000 

 tons of mixed fertilizers, superphosphate, 

 and potash, and 375,000 tons of^ rock 

 phosphate. 



"These estimated quantities of plant 

 foods for next year look enormous," 

 Becker said, "but men like Dr. DeTurk 

 and his associates at the University of 

 Illinois tell us we have not yet begun 

 to restore and maintain fertility even 

 with that kind of tonnage. 



"During the past 18 months," the Il- 

 linois Farm Supply Company manager 

 said, "we have not been able to fully 

 meet the demands placed upon us by 

 farm people. Actually our organization 

 entered the plant food business after the 

 supply situation became acute." 



In preparing to serve the mixed plant 

 food needs of its members, Becker said 

 his company faces two alternatives: 

 Either to build central manufacturing 

 plants or small regional plants. 



"While we are unable to define all 

 .the details of our course at this stage," 

 Becker explained, "our objectives are 

 quite clear. We shall strive to make 

 available to Illinois farm people quan- 

 tities of phosphates, potash and nitrogen 

 in straight material form for direct ap- 

 plication. This material will be pro- 

 vided in grades approved by the quality 

 control committee and as recommended 

 by the University of Illinois college of 

 agriculture." 



Hunger signs in crops ore described by 

 Dr. DeTurk of the O. oi L 



ANNOUNCE NEW 

 WHEAT VARIETY 



Prairie, a new soft winter wheat for 

 Illinois developed at the U. of I. agri- 

 cultural experiment station, was avail- 

 able in moderate quantities for seeding 

 this fall. 



According to the experiment station, 

 Prairie is resistant to wheat mosaic and 

 to the physiologic races of black stem 

 rust that commonly occur in Illinois. It 

 is susceptible to loose smut and leaf rust, 

 say its originators, O. T. Bonnett and G. 

 H. Dungan, of the U. of I. College of 

 Agriculture. 



If you want more information on 

 Prairie, write for a copy of the new 

 Prairie wheat bulletin No. 513, U. of I. 

 College of Agriculture, Urbana. 



Because of its stiff straw, Prairie may 

 be grown on fertile soil, where it is best 

 adapted; but since it is a soft wheat, 

 plantings should, for commercial reasons, 

 be limited to those sections of Illinois 

 where soft wheat predominates. 



R. H. Voorhees, presides at annual meet- 

 ing oi nUnoia Agricultural Auditing As- 

 sociation. 



Cattle given a full feed of corn on pasture 



paid a little more return for each $100 

 worth of feed than cattle fattened at the 

 same time in drylot in each of the five years 

 1939-43 on farms reporting results in the 

 Farm Bureau Farm Management Service of 

 the University of Illinois. 



Thirty years ago it required a total of 21 

 minutes to grow a bushel of corn in Cham- 

 paign county. With the development of 

 hybrid com and improving farming methods, 

 some farmers have reduced the time to about 

 three minutes. 



DECEMBER, 1945 



43 



