Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 219, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 September 1913 — PROPER METHOD OF FERTILIZING FOR WHEAT [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

PROPER METHOD OF FERTILIZING FOR WHEAT

By J. C. BEAVERS, Soils and Crops Department, Purdue Experiment Bte tion, Purdue University Agricultural Extension.

Judging from the amount of space given to discussing the old hen in Agricultural and other papers, one would think that she is holding up the staff of life, but it still requires about six bushels of wheat and only a peck of eggs to satisfy the gastronomies! proclivities of the average person. Wheat is and always will be the standard bread cereal. It requires about nine to ten months to seed, grow, harvest and thresh a crop of wheat. It coßts the farmer on the average between sl2 and sl3 an acre to produpe and market wheat. From 1900 to 1909 Indiana produced on an average of 14.2 bushels of wheat to the acre, which sold for an average of $4 cents per bushel. In other words the average acre of wheat produced during this ten-year period was worth $11.93 or less than enough to cover the cost of production. This deesn’t look like the wheat growers are responsible for much of the present high cost of living.

The problem of growing more wheat, like tne problems in every line of business, depends upon doing the right things and doing them a little better than the average. By far the largest part of the Wheat acreage of Indiana is seeded either standing corn or just after the corn has been cut. Another large portion Is seeded on fallowed oats stubble. The wheat seeded under these conditions constitutes about 90 per cent, of the total acreage of the state and, are, therefore, the methods of seeding which need most attention. When seeding wheat, most farmers have two purposes in view. They want a good wheat crop and at the same time they want to get a good catch of clover in the wheat that will

make a good crop of hay the following year. This 1b Just what should be desired, but a greater effort must be put forth if this desire is to be fully accomplished. - This station has repeatedly warned the fanners against practicing systems of farming and adopting rotations which d& not maintain the organic matter supply of the soil. One of the greatest needs of Indiana soils is more decaying vegetable matter. This soil constituent has more to do with the yield per acre than any other. The physical, bacterial and moisture conditions are very largely controlled by the supply of organic matter and the aim of every successful farmer should fully be to provide some means of keeping up the supply of this constituent. There is no substitute for it. There 1b none needed. The supply depends upon the farmer’s ability to keep stock and return manure to the soil or his ability to plan a rotation that will furnish sufficient to turn under or to grow crops and turn under' that will maintain the supply. And there is no wisdom in waiting until the life has been farmed out of the soil before beginning Buch a practice. No farm should ever-be allowed to get badly in need of it. It is needed for every crop, everywhere, at all times. . And there are no exceptions to the rule. There is no way of adding a supply now for future generations, so provide; a system of manuring or turning under clover that will be permanent by keeping everlastingly at it. It will Increase tfce wheat crop, the corn crop, the clover crop and provide more money for the farm family. Wheat after corn and after oats; we must not forget that. That wheat which will bo seeded after corn and oats is likely to need some nourishment. like the man who has worked turd all day. It would be very hard

on a man to do two flays work in succession without a meal between. That com crop 1b going to take nourishment from the soil right up to the time wheat is Beeded. Shortly after wheat is seeded the weather will get cool and nitrates will not be fbrmed, neither will other plant foods be so readily available, so it would be wise to feed the crop. The soils and crops department has been fertilizing wheat for a number of years with good results. When we spend one dollar for the right kind of fertilizer we expect to get that dollar back and two dollars extra. Then it not only helps the wheat but also greatly improves the yield' of clover. Clover needs, more phosphorus when grown, on the clay and clay loam soils, and when grown on the sandy and sandy loam soils it also needs potash. If the wheat receives a liberal application of fertilizer there will be some left for clover. Our best results have been obtained by using 300 pounds of fertilizer containing about two per cent, nitrogen, eight to ten per cent, phosphoric acid and from three to five per cent potash. The higher per cent, of potash is used on the lighter sandy loam soils. Where clover has been turned under or the preceding com crop has received an application of ten or more tons of manure, the nitrogen may be left out, as it wjfl do little good where there is a fair supply of or-’ ganic nitrogen in the soil. In case a farmer wishes, he can usually save several dollars a ton by buying the fertilizing materials and mixing his * own fertilizer. A good wheat fertilizer may be made by mixing 900 pounds bone meal, 900 pounds add phosphate, and 200 pounds of

muriate of potaßh. This fertilizer should analyze about two per nitrogen, 16 per cent, phosphoric acid and five per cent, potash. This mixture is suitable for clay and clay loam soils. I If the soil 1b much deficient in organic matter and nitrogen il would be well to replace 100 to 150 pounds of bone meal' with the same amount of high-grade slaughterhouse tankage. For sandy loam' soil more potash should be used in the above mixture — about 60 pounds more. Thpse who have not been getting good crops of wheat and clover will do- well to try an application of 260 or 300 pounds to the acre of fertilizer, such as given above. On any but the very best soil it will pay well.

1. —21 Bushels Per Acre. 2.—4 Bushels Per Acre 3.—28 Bushels Per Acre. Wheat—Clay Soil—Scott County.

1.—31 Bushels Per Acre. 2.—4 Bushels Per acre. 3.—9 Bushels Per Acre. Wheat—Clay Soil—Scott County.