A study was made to determine the effect of nitrogen fertilizer, alone and in combination with phosphate and potash fertilizers, on the yield and quality of wheat; to determine the effect of nitrogen carrier on wheat yield and quality; and to determine the effect of time and method of application of nitrogen fertilizer on yield and quality of wheat. Yields of wheat were found to be increased at all locations by the use of nitrogen fertilizers. Increasing the rate of nitrogen applied gave varied but similar results. Increases in yields were noted for inclusion of phosphatic fertilizer in the treatment while the inclusion of potash fertilizer had no effect, beneficial or detrimental, on yields of wheat. The later applications of nitrogen fertilizer gave more increase in yield of wheat than did nitrogen fertilizer broadcast before seeding. Only at Manhattan was NH₄NO₃ significantly superior to CaCN₂ in increasing the yields of wheat. At other locations, no differences in effect of type of carrier of nitrogen on yields of wheat were observed. Test weights of wheat were affected by several treatments at Manhattan and Belleville but not at the other two locations. At Belleville, the resulting effect was a reduction of test weight of the treated plot yield below that of the untreated plot yield, but the effect at Manhattan was in general a reversal of that found at Belleville. Protein content was increased by several treatments as a result of the use of nitrogen fertilizer alone or in combination with phosphate and/or potash fertilizers. This tendency was most pronounced for the heavier applications of nitrogen fertilizer. The inclusion of potash in the treatment caused an increase in percentage of protein at Belleville but at other locations had no effect on percentage of protein. Phosphorus when included in the treatment decreased the protein percentage. The type of nitrogen carrier had little effect on protein percentage contained in wheat.

Field determinations of soil moisture were made on land either continuously cropped to wheat or alternately fallowed and cropped to wheat, to depths up to 6 feet for periods up to 30 years at 31 stations or locations in the Great Plains. These determinations were made at intervals throughout the period of seedbed preparation and the life of the crop. Two of the major points of interest that developed were the quantity of water that the soil could continue to hold against the pull of gravity, and the portion of it that could not be used by the wheat crop. Late in the 1930's data on these two points were abstracted on all plots — 121 — where enough data were available to make the abstractions reliable. The moisture equivalent was used as an expression of texture in examining these data. The results were assembled but not published. Recently these field determined values have been compared with laboratory vlaues obtained through recently-developed techniques. (Part II of this paper). Their relation to the moisture equivalent is presented partly as a background for these other studies. The moisture equivalent had a good but not an exact relationship to the field capacity throughout the range of soils studied. The regression lines established showed that there was a slight reduction in field capacity with depth, probably due to the manner of wetting. There was a fair agreement between the extent to which wheat reduced the moisture content of the soil, and the moisture equivalent to the depth to which wheat rooted freely. Below a depth of 3 feet the extent to which wheat could remove water was affected by increasingly sparse root development that differed on the several soils. The moisture equivalent served as a means of showing the extent to which actual field reduction fell short of the level established by the soil texture. The quantity of water between the field capacity and the minimum point for wheat decreased from the surface downward, due to a slight reduction in the field capacity and an increase in the quantity of water that wheat could not remove. Results are applicable to dry land conditions in the Great Plains and would not apply to soils wetted by irrigation or by a more continuous or adequate water supply.

v | ok | kirjasto Aj-K | On breeding for quality of wheat in Finland

An expedition was undertaken under the auspices of Gujarat University to make a preliminary investigation about the desert areas in Gujarat. The expedition was under the leadership of Dr. K. R. Ramnathan of Physical Research Laboratory. ( Seven persons left on 14th June 1952 for Zinzuwada, one of the starting points of the desert.) General Description The area appears to contain quantities of iron sulphide, gypsum, common salt and other soluble salts. The portion investigated was on the border line of the desert, rather than the area of the desert itself. The area contained a number of islands called ' Bets ' consisting of small hamlets in the compara- tively more productive lands in the belts of the rivers, Benas, Rupen and Saraswati. The crops taken are wheat, juwar and cotton. The climate is warm and the rain- fall is reported to be scanty. The colours of the soil appear to be varying from place to place from light gray to brownish black in some parts.

This paper presents a summary of data on percolation of soil water through monolith lysimeters with an 8-foot profile covering the period 1938 to 1953. The effects of soil type and land use on percolation are stressed. Soil type influences amounts and rates of percolation. The Muskingum soils, because of their lighter texture, provide greater opportunity for more rapid soil water movement which is reflected in greater amounts and more rapid rates of percolation than on the heavier Keene soils except under the circumstances noted. When all the lysimeters were in grass, the average annual percolation amounted to 16.0 inches on Muskingum silt loam (sandstone); 9.85 inches on Muskingum silt loam (shale); and 8.26 inches on the Keene silt loam. From 83% to 92% of the total annual percolation is obtained during the first 6 months of the year. The expression of annual percolation in terms of percent of annual precipitation minus runoff affords a better comparison of land use effects on percolation. In general, percolation is lowest under corn and wheat and highest under first-year meadow. Soil conservation practices involving greater crop production have resulted in an appreciable decrease in percolation. This is due largely to the better vegetative cover and growth which removes more water by transpiration thereby leaving a lesser amount of soil water available for percolation.

A greenhouse test to measure the effect of placement, granule size, and the relative phosphate fixing capacity of the soil upon the efficiency of superphosphate and dicalcium phosphate was performed. The materials, labeled with P³², granulated, and sized to 4–6, 8–10, 14–20, 28–35, and −35 mesh were used in band and mixed placements on Evesboro and Davidson soils. A major difficulty encountered in greenhouse experimentation with granulated fertilizers stems from the problem of securing small samples for pot application that truly represent the test materials. Even with close-sized materials the minimum representative sample of coarse granules is several-fold larger than the quantity required for pot application. The test crop was wheat. Using increased yields, total phosphorus uptake, and percentage of the plant phosphorus derived from the fertilizer as criteria of agronomic value, the 14–20 mesh granules of superphosphate were the best size tested with this material while the 28–35 and −35 were the best sizes tested with dicalcium phosphate.