anaheim-gazette 1909-12-30

J.H. NORTON ON COVER CROPS VALUABLE DATA FROM RIVERSIDE EXPERIMENT STATION Shows Gross Yield Per Acre of Land Scientifically Treated—Laboratory Analysis Illustrating Amount Of Organic Matter Produced—Figures Prof. J. H. Norton addressed a recent meeting of Riverside orange-growers upon the value of Cover Crops in Citrus Orchards. The expert of the experiment station located in that city had much to say upon this subject. His address was in part as follows: The term cover crop is used more or less interchangeably with that of green manure crop. It may be that the former term as used in this section is the more preferable. It is doubtful whether some of the crops as grown in this section are any more manurial than plowing is manurial and we hardly speak of plowing as applying manure. There are several arguments in favor of growing cover crops, and yet many practical growers fail to see convincing proofs in the form of financial returns. The cover crop roots should penetrate where it is impractical to reach with machinery. The result of this is that by and by these roots decay and are converted into humus which makes a home for bacteria, and these bacteria undoubtedly reach to the very tips of these roots, more or less, working on the soil as they go. This working on the soil by bacteria will be explained at the next meeting by Mr. Lipman, but it may be said that this working of the bacteria causes a physical improvement in the soil as well as a chemical one, and it is doubtfuler crop seed while in other cases we will find that the author depends for his daily bread on the apparent success that he is making with someone else's grove. So it is well to look into a statement before accepting it verbatim. Then again Mr. A believes in the benefits derived from the use of cover crops, and on investigating it is ascertained that he uses about 5 feet of manure to the tree per year, which is much more organic matter than a good cover crop affords. I do not want to be understood as opposing the use of cover crops, for I do not hold such opposition. On the contrary I am a firm believer in the use of them. But let us not rate them with the get rich quick schemes for any process of soil improvement that has a lasting effect is slow. In order to collect some more data on the value of cover crops I undertook last spring to find out just what yields were being produced in Southern California, the chemical composition and any other data that could be ascertained. It does seem a simple process to determine the yield of a cover crop tops, and you will agree with me that it is simple when I tell you how I did it. Yet I found a few people who have made such determinations and in no case have I found anything like an accurate determination made. Always the error had an increasing effect on the yield. The one universal error was to take a territory say 10 feet square which has a good growth of cover crop all over it, cut off the cover crop, weigh it and calculate to the acre from that 100 square feet. As a matter of fact it was my observation that only four-sevenths of the soil was ever seeded and the other three-sevenths of the soil contained very little growth, and this growth was not productive than crop. Vetch undo head of the points are tall. This crop was and of good yield out of tops and roots per acre. The 662 pounds p.p. of the seven-acre which yield organic matter. One crop o burr clover and peas were done the order named. One summer was determined which gave aid of the other ed. The figures o title it to raid all, neither f yield, nor from matter produce ugreek were that I was a yield for top 17,522 pounds crop of peas burr clover 249,662 pounds. With a yield of 51,435 pounds 397 pounds o field of barley ment station on the trees too produced 43,884 a yield of 342 ter. Mustard seen mally high co which may ad tent of humm from the fact there for ye The result of this is that by and by these roots decay and are converted into humus which makes a home for bacteria, and these bacteria undoubtedly reach to the very tips of these roots, more or less, working on the soil as they go. This working on the soil by bacteria will be explained at the next meeting by Mr. Lipman, but it may be said that this working of the bacteria causes a physical improvement in the soil as well as a chemical one, and it is doubtful whether it can be accomplished in any other way. But certainly an exaggeration of this beneficial action has been put before the public. While there may be cases on record in which the alfalfa root or other plant roots have gone great depths, yet this is the exception. It was my experience last spring in digging up cover crop roots on all types of soil and all kinds of cover crops that the roots never extended more than 40 inches deep, and only in one case did it approach this figure. This was a very loose sandy soil in which burr clover and alfalfa went equally deep. The type of soil seemed to govern the depth of root penetration, which was in many cases about one foot deep. But even in cases where a few of the roots do go as deep as 15 to 18 inches, the vast majority of the root system is in the territory of only 4 to 6 inches deep. The cover crop adds directly to the soil all of the carbohydrates which it contains. In other words, all of the carbon, hydrogen and oxygen which go to make up the organic matter of the plant comes from the air and water and does not impoverish the soil in the least. As to the question of nitrogen, it is probable that there is a point of equilibrium for the nitrogen in any soil. That is if the nitrogen content of the soil in question is below this point of equilibrium a leguminous cover-crop will add more nitrogen to the soil than it will take away. But after the soil has built up in nitrogen to this equilibrium point the nitrogen gained and the nitrogen lost by the leguminous cover crop is at an equilibrium. Should the nitrogen for some reason or other get above this equilibrium point I believe that the growth of any cover crop results in a loss of nitrogen. And I believe further that this equilibrium point for nitrogen while using a leguminous cover crop is below the point of most profitable production for the soil made. Always the error had an increasing effect on the yield. The one universal error was to take a territory say 10 feet square which has a good growth of cover crop all over it, cut off the cover crop, weigh it and calculate to the acre from that 100 square feet. As a matter of fact it was my observation that only four-sevenths of the soil was ever seeded and the other three-sevenths of the soil contained very little growth, and this growth was not of the most desirable nature. So I believe that we are perfectly safe in taking only 57 per cent of the amount that may be put out as cover crop yields, to say nothing of the biased judgment that enters into the case of one taking a sample of his own cover crop. In determining the yield of a cover crop we want to know the yield on the whole block, and for that reason we must select a territory which represents the whole block to cut our sample from. First locate an average as nearly as possible of the cover crop, then with our method of tree planting, in squares, I found it easy to take a square with the four trees as the four corners of the square. Cut this crop off by hand on your knees, cutting one plant at a time, just at the surface of the ground. This requires from two to three hours where the work is done carefully. It is well to make a weighing every few minutes unless the atmosphere is such that the evaporation from the cut crop is at a minimum. This cutting having been done and the weight taken, it is then time to measure the area cut over. Having this area measured, it is easy to calculate the yield per acre. This gives us the greatest part of the yield and the part which is the most accurate in the method of determination. The hard part is to determine the yield of the roots, and the subject certainly is open to suggestions, for I know of no very good method. The method I used, however, was as follows: Find another area which is representative, although of much smaller size, say about three feet square, and dig the plants up as carefully as it is possible to do. Wash out the roots very carefully, taking care not to wet the tops, and not to waste any of the rootlets. Cut the tops off as nearly as possible at the same point as the tops were cut off where the roots were not taken. Weigh the tops and likewise the roots and these... But after the soil has built up in nitrogen to this equilibrium point the nitrogen gained and the nitrogen lost by the leguminous cover crop is at an equilibrium. Should the nitrogen for some reason or other get above this equilibrium point I believe that the growth of any cover crop results in a loss of nitrogen. And I believe further that this equilibrium point for nitrogen while using a leguminous cover crop is below the point of most profitable production for the citrus grower. I believe then that we should use nitrogenous fertilizers even without most successful leguminous cover crops. The potassium and phosphorus which the cover crop contains is all taken from the soil and is all returned to the soil by the crop, and so far as we know the availability of these returned elements is as great as it was before. All of the organic matter of the cover crop goes back to the soil and serves in two ways; that of humus making and to improve the physical conditions of the soil before being humified or by improving the physical condition of the soil with that material which never will humify. Much has been said and written about humus, so much that it would be hard to say anything original or anything which any of you do not already know. The one fact that I do want to bring out in this talk is exact yields and fairly accurate compositions of cover crops. There has been much agitation about the yields of cover crops and their benefits. It is always well when coming in contact with statements which look large to analyze the situation and see why any statement at all was made. In some cases we will find that the author is interested in the sale of cov- method I used, however, was as follows: Find another area which is representative, although of much smaller size, say about three feet square, and dig the plants up as carefully as it is possible to do. Wash out the roots very carefully, taking care not to wet the tops, and not to waste any of the rootlets. Cut the tops off as nearly as possible at the same point as the tops were cut off where the roots were not taken. Weigh the tops and likewise the roots and these two weights will give a ratio which may be used in calculating the weight of roots per acre from the yield of tops per acre. This method certainly is open to serious objections. It is almost if not impossible to wash all of the soil out without washing away an appreciable amount of the roots themselves. I did not wash vigorously as it was the organic matter that I was interested in, and the soil being practically inorganic I was able to retain nearly all of the organic matter and not have a cumbersome amount of soil present. To wash the roots out with a spray in place may wash the soil out better, but in so doing it surely will wash away many of the rootlets. Three samples were taken to the laboratory for analysis; one sample of the roots, one sample of the tops corresponding to these roots and another top sample from the area cut over in the field. The only sample of lupines that I was able to secure was one of wild origin near Redlands Junction, and this one covered an area probably not greater than one acre. This was an exceedingly heavy growth, a good stand and well matured. Taking account of the gross yield or of the organic matter either, this one sample of lupine was far more pro- ANAHEIM GAZETTE Dissoluti SEASO Clothing and Only a few more days to Bargains Suits, Overcoats, derwear, Sweater Gloves, Suspende Handkerchiefs a Mustard seems to produce an abnorally high content of organic matter, which may account for the high content of humus in certain sections from the fact that mustard grew wild there for years. The wild mustard ductive than any other leguminous crop. Vetch undoubtedly stands at the head of the cover crop list when all points are taken into consideration. This crop was uniformly of good yield and of good quality. The lowest yield out of seven crops analyzed of tops and roots both was 12,948 lbs. per acre. The highest yield was 49,662 pounds per acre. The average of the seven was 23,450 pounds per acre which yielded 2099 pounds of organic matter. One crop of Tangler peas, three of burr clover and five of Canadian field peas were determined and stand in the order named: One summer crop, that of cowpeas, was determined on September 21, which gave a less yield than did any of the other legumes above mentioned. The figures on fenugreek do not entitle it to rank as a cover crop at all, neither from the point of total yield, nor from the point of organic matter produced. Four crops of fenugreek were determined and the best that I was able to find give a total yield for top and roots both of only 17,522 pounds per acre, while the best crop of peas yielded 27,225 pounds, burr clover 22,849 pounds and vetch 49,662 pounds. With a yield per acre of alfilerilla of 51,435 pounds it produced only 2,397 pounds of organic matter. One field of barley grown at the experiment station in a young grove where the trees took up very little room, produced 43,845 pounds per acre, with a yield of 3426 pounds of organic matter. 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