The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, January 19, 1920, Page 4

Storing Moisture by Summer Tillage Dry Farming Expert Holds Proper Treatment of the Fallow Field Vitai-to Success in ‘Arid Regions The article below, by the editor of Campbell’s Farmer, is the second of a series on the general subject of dry land farming. The first - article in the. December 1 issue gave the early history and some of the fundamentals of the Campbell system. These articles are offered by the Leader merely to show what other men are thinking on the subject and not as the final word. Farmers should base their decisions on careful, independent study. Those who wish more detailed information on the Campbell system should write directly to Campbell’s Scientific Farmer, Mossmain, Mont. 3 BY R. A. HASTE ~JHE fallow field was a familiar ‘| division of the old-time farm and the treatment given was a pretty good index-of the intel- ligence of the farmer. Here was a farmer who believed that his land needed a rest. So he allowed a certain field a eom- plete vacation — abandoned it for a year or two to a riot of weeds and native grass; here was another, a shade more thrifty, who allowed a field to lie fallow but used it for a pasture for his sheep and young cattle, the grass and weeds, therefore, were kept closely cropped; here was another with a field infested with sorrel or some other persistent weed, and being a thinker he not only pastured his fallow field but plowed it in mid- summer to destroy the obnoxious weeds. The result was a slightly increased yield in the next year’s crop in each case. The conclusions, however, regarding the cause of this increased yield were different. One concluded that the result was due to the rest given the land, another that the re- sult was owing to the fertilizing effect of the crop of weeds which he had turned under. This was the old idea of summer fallow and dif- fers materially from the modern idea, which is known as summer tillage. The idea that the soil needed a rest has been exploded, as well as the theory of weed fertilization. We allow land to re- main fallow now for the purpose of preparing it for the next year’s crop by.a system of scientific tillage which results in the conservation and storage within the soil of a large per cent of the rainfall. Summer tillage is a new departure in the process of soil culture. While the essential scientific prin- ciples involved are old their application is compara- tively new. J FOUR ADVANTAGES OF CULTIVATION IN THE FALL" It is said that the education of the child should begin with his grandfather; so it is with the field to be summer tilled. The work should begin the year before. As a general proposition summer til- lage can not be carried on and the best resuits ob- tained until one or two crops have been grown. The first step—a thorough cultivation by a disk harrow or another implement that will accomplish the same result—should follow the removal of the fall crop. The advantage of this cultivation when following a crop of small grain is fourfold: First—By forming a surface mulch it conserves the moisture already in the soil. - Second—By presenting a loose surface the au- tumn rains -are more readily absorbed and retained by the subsoil. Third—The stirring of the surface soil hastens the germination of weed seeds and volunteer grain, the young growth of which will be destroyed " by frost -or subsequent cultivation. Fourth—The condition of the soil as to water content thus produced, together with the high soil temperature of lafe . summer, favors bacterial activity and the trans- formation of potential into available fertility. The beginning and the end of summer tillage is the conservation of mois- ° ture — the storing of moisture in the soil as in a reservoir. The irri- gator stores his surplus water in artificial reser- voirs and turns it into his fields when he thinks his crop needs it. The modern scientific farmer i stores the rainfall in the soil and holds.it there ever ready for the growing crops when needed. That water, whether it be applied artificially by irrigation or falls in the form of rain or snow, can be stored in the soil and held there for the use of the crop has been amply demonstrated. In fact, it has been demonstrated that the best results in the growing of fruit orchards and cultural crops in the irrigated sections of the arid West are obtained from one irrigation a year, the moisture being held in the soil by surface cultivation. . Now let us go over the process of summer tillage step by step, seeing that everything is done that should be done, and learning if possible the reasons for the various steps. The field designed for sum- mer tillage, which has been disked in the autumn and kept clear of weeds, will have absorbed a great part of the autumn and winter rains, and if there has been a fall of snow that, too, will soak into the soil at the opening of spring. The first problem then is to hold this water in the soil—to prevent its evaporation during the warm and windy days of early spring. How can this be done? Put a lid on as soon as pos- sible. Get into the field with a disk harrow as soon as the condition of the top soil will permit. Don’t wait until it is dry—get on while it is yet wet and double disk it. " Break up the surface crust if one has formed and put in its place a mulch of small clods—not a dust mulch, for that would be fatal, especially where high winds are likely to prevail during the spring months. You want a coarse mulch, one that will not blow. Therefore disk the ground when it is sufficiently wet to roll up into little balls from the size of a pea to that of a walnut. The depth to which the disk should cut depends upon the condition of the surface. If the surface be already loose set the disks so they will run light and cut shallow. If there is a crust formed and the sur- face is getting somewhat dry set them at a greater angle and cut deeper, deep enough to turn up the moist soil. Be sure to double disk by lapping your implement one-half, The reason for doing this on R. A. Haste land to be summer tilled is that it leaves the sur- face comparatively level. If you use the single disk, there is left after each round a back furrow where the outside disks throw up the dirt that is removed from the center, and an open furrow formed by the action of the inside disks. Here, in the ahsence of a mulch, evapora- tion will take place rapidly and a crust will quickly form. This defect the double disking corrects, leaving the surface with a uniform mulch, level but slightly ridged and cloddy. If conditions will per- mit, a shallow mulch is best, for the reason that the rainfall will more readily soak into it, and then, too, the weather being cool and the evaporation slight, a deep mulch is unnecessary. When the disked surface has become packed by the first rains it should be loosened at once with a The two-row lister used to furrow fields at right angle to prevailing winds. The hills and hollows prevent blowing., Somewhat similar results in prevention of blowing have heen secured by use of corrugated rollers. PAGE FOUR good light harrow or cultivator. This work should be done without delay while the ground is yet moist, because a mulch made from wet soil will not drift, and for the further reason that in this condition a much lighter mulch will do. The lighter the mulch at this time of the year-the better it will be, because, as above stated, the rainfall will be absorbed more readily than by a deep and fine dust mulch. The reason for this is that moist soil has a greater attraction for water than has dry soil. So the nearer to the surface we can keep the moist earth and still protect it from evaporation the mbre readily will it take in the subsequent rainfall. After every rain that tends to pack the surface the field should be gone over with a light imple- ment to restore the mulch and bottle up the mois- ture. When once the mulch is established the mois- ture keeps moving down into the subsoil and is there held fast. Rainfall after rainfall may thus be stored and kept so long as the surface is kept sealed with a proper mulch to prevent evaporation. WEEDS ROB THE SOIL OF ITS FERTILITY As soon as the sun gets warm and the rains come the weeds will start up. They come without bid- ding and need no cultivation to grow. They must be met and destroyed before they can take root. Various devices may be used for this purpose. When the weeds are young and tender most any light harrow will do the business. But should they get a start a disk harrow may be necessary to kill them. But weeds should never be allowed to get a start. They are not only the most inveterate drinkers in the world, but while they are using up the precious moisture you are trying to store in the soil they are also taking up a large percentage of the plant food that has been liberated, and this you want to keep for your coming crop. An idea seems to prevail that weeds do not exhaust the fertility of the soil, that in some way they do the land good if you let them grow and plow them under. This is just like .lifting yourself over the fence with your bootstraps. Keep every weed out of your summer-tilled field. It will do you no good to keep the lid on to prevent evaporation if you allow a mil- lion little pumps to pull the moisture out. Over a large part of the semi-arid West, especial- ly in localities where there is a fine soil exposed to the sweep of the wind, if the surface be pulverized by surface rolling or too much harrowing it is like- ly to drift badly. Here a dust mulch would be fatal to any field. If there is any moisture in the subsoil, and if the plowed soil be properly packed with a subsurface packer, a mulch can be maintained that will not blow. This has been demonstrated beyond a doubt. It is the lifeless soil that drifts, the fine, powdery stuff that contains no moisture. If the moisture line be kept near the surface by packing there will be sufficient moisture to hold the mulch intact. The ridge system of cultivation advocated by Pro- fessor TenEyck will doubtless prevent drifting to a great extent. In this system the ground is thrown up into ridges with a Tister, not plowed, with the idea that less rainfall will escape through the runoff than from level cultivation. When the ridges be- c¢ome dry after a rain they are harrowed down, the surplus dirt falling in the furrows, thus cov- ering with & dry mulch the wet soil. = Care is taken to list the field as near as possible at right angles to the direction of the prevailing wind so that the force -of the moving air is broken every few feet and at least one-half of the sur- face is perfectly protect- ed. This condition is maintained only in the fall and spring), when the winds are likely to do the most damage. Later in the season the ridged surface is worked down and the ridges. split if necessury to conquer the weeds and harrowed back into a firm seed and root bed suitable for planting.’