June 16,1923 
Factors Affecting Nitrogen Content of Wheat 
941 
centages of water in the soil lowers the nitrogen content of the grain. 
He also finds that the growing period for the wheat, undoubtedly due 
to a weaker soil solution and especially the concentration of nitrates 
which are inadequate for the best development, is shortened with the 
use of an increased water supply. Von Seelhorst and Krzymowski (21) 
also find that the ripening period may be shortened by keeping the 
water content of the soil up to 85 per cent of its capillary capacity. 
Preul (16) studied the influence of variable amounts of water on 
the composition of wheat grown on soil rich or poor in fertility. He 
found that the nitrogen content of the wheat was high when the appli¬ 
cation of water was kept constantly low. A lack of water during the 
late stages of growth caused a comparatively low nitrogen content in 
the grain. 
Shutt (24, 25) states that the wheat grown on newly cleared scrub 
land compared with wheat grown on fallow or cultivated land is physi¬ 
cally softer, “piebald,” more starchy, and lower in nitrogen content. 
This finding, he believed is due to the larger amount of water contained 
in the newly cleared scrub land, causing a prolongation of the growing 
period of the plant. 
SOIIv AND FERTILIZERS 
The soil as a factor in influencing the composition of wheat has been 
studied. Thatcher (j2), LeClerc (ii), and Shaw and Walters (22) are 
of the opinion that the composition of soil has very little, if any, influ¬ 
ence on the composition of grain. Shaw and Walters state that the 
soil nitrogen content has little, if any, direct influence upon the nitrogen 
content of grain and that the factor of climate is sufficient to entirely 
overshadow the soil factor. In connection with these experiments, the 
work of other investigators on the influence of fertilizers should not be 
overlooked. Snyder (26) states that— 
increasing the amount of nitrogen in the soil, increases the amount of nitrogen in 
the grain. 
Ames (i) shows that, without exception, application of nitrogen fer¬ 
tilizer increased the nitrogen content of the grain. The proportion of 
phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen in the wheat plant is increased 
by the addition of these elements to the soil. Whitson, Wells, and 
Vivian (36) believe that under the same seasonal conditions the most 
important factor in causing variation in the composition of crops is the 
amount of nitrates in the soil. On the other hand, Soule and Van 
Alter (27) state that the use of fertilizers on the growing of wheat in a 
rich soil did not appreciably increase the protein content. 
INVESTIGATIONAL WORK 
I. FACTORS AFFECTING THE NITROGEN CONTENT OF WHEAT 
EFFECT OF WIDTH OF ROWS ON NITROGEN CONTENT OF WHEAT 
In the earlier investigational work undertaken at this experiment 
station on the influence of length of growing season, soil, or climatic 
condition on the percentage of nitrogen in wheat, methods of preparing 
the soil and seeding were followed which were not considered a part of 
the investigation but which undoubtedly played a very important part 
in the results obtained. 
