360 
Journal of Agricultural Research 
Vol. XXVIIi No. 6 
Table VII.— The disposition of the plats treated with commercial plus natural fertilizer 
and the percentages of rust on Haynes Bluestem and the hybrid in the plats on Univer¬ 
sity Farm, St. Paul, Minn., in igi6 
Infection. 
Fertilizer. 
Fertilizer, kind and amount 
(pounds) per acre. 
Kind. 
Amount 
per acre. 
Sodium 
nitrate. 
500. 
| Potas¬ 
sium 
' sul- 
| phate 
1,000. 
None. 
Dried 
blood 
650. 
Percentage of stem rust, Haynes Blue¬ 
f 58 
60 
61 
63 
stem. 
10 tons.. . 
Percentage of stem rust, hybrid. 
l 4 ° ! 
41 
43 
42 
Percentage of stem rust, Haynes Blue¬ 
1 
f 58 1 
58 
61 
63 
stem. 
£ 
< 25 tons... 
i 
Percentage of stem rust, hybrid. 
OJ 
1 
1 4 ° i 
40 
43 
42 
Percentage of stem rust, Haynes Blue¬ 
s 
| ss 
stem. 
Control.. 
Percentage of stem rust, hybrid. 
1 38 
The plants on the manured plats were uniform and were much more 
vigorous and darker green in color than those on the control plat. One 
week after heading out, the plants were injured by drought. The 
peduncles of the plants broke over or crinkled at the point where 
they emerged from the sheath. This occurred so uniformly on all the 
plats that it could not be attributed entirely to the effect of the fertilizers. 
The same effect was noted on the plats in the experiment with the com¬ 
mercial fertilizers for this same year. 
The plants lodged badly on all the manured plats, while there was no 
lodging in the control plat. The average percentage of lodging in the 
plats receiving io tons of manure per acre was 40, while in those re¬ 
ceiving 25 tons it was 60 per cent. 
The average percentages of stem rust are shown in Table VIII. The 
range on Haynes Bluestem was from 55 to 63 per cent, and on the hybrid 
from 38 to 43 per cent. The differences were so small that one would be 
fully justified in concluding that the effect of the fertilizers on the sus¬ 
ceptibility of the host to attacks by stem rust is negligible. 
The yields were greatly reduced by the drought and the rust. There 
was a sharp difference in the ability of the two varieties to withstand 
the effects of the drought, a difference due partly at least to slightly 
earlier maturity of the hybrid. The average yield of Haynes Bluestem 
was less than a bushel per acre, while that of the hybrid was between 
5 and 6 bushels per acre. 
