The progressive farmer and southern farm gazette., May 21, 1910, Page 367, Image 3

About The progressive farmer and southern farm gazette. (Starkville, Miss.) 1910-1920

Image provided by: Mississippi Department of Archives and History

                
BY BETTER TILLAGE—HOW IT AFFECTS BACTERIAL
LIFE IN THE SOIL.
V Tait Butler.
OR MANY YEARS the ques
tion of soil fertility was look
ed upon as mainly a chemical
problem—one of plant foods—but I
the developments of recent years
have shown that it is more largely a
biological problem than one of chem
istry. A fertile soil is by no means
a mass of disintegrated or pulveriz
ed rocks and dead organic matter. It
is filled with inconceivable numbers
of very small, invisible, but living
plants, called bacteria or germs—
the life activities of which bring
about destructive and chemical
changes of the most vital importance
to crop production. Some idea of
the numbers of bacteria in a fertile
soil under favorable moisture and 1
temperature conditions, may be ob
tained from the fact that as many as
60,000,000 bacteria have been found J
in a cube of soil measuring about 1
1-3 of an inch on each side. £
Mow Bacteria Increase Crop Produc* ^
tion. j
Tf nlan V»n ototoH that thora ic t
usually a direct aud constant rela
tion between tbe number of bacteria i
in tbe soil and the crop production. 1
For instance, Liebefeld found nearly i
twice as many bacteria in meadow I
land as In cultivated soil, and nearly (
live times as many in a manure pile i
as in the meadow land. Kinsley, of i
Kansas, examined the soil of five
fields and compared the number of :
a bacteria found, with the crop yields.
" In each case the yield was proportion
al to the number of bacteria; the
field having the least number of bac
teria yielding least and the one hav
ing the largest number of bacteria
yielding most. It was also found
that the field which had the largest
number of bacteria contained the
largest per cent of humus, and the
one having the smallest number of
bacteria and yielding the smallest
crop, had the lowest per cent of
humus. This establishes a close re
lationship between the number of
bacteria, the amount of humus and
the size of the crop produced.
Two Kinds of Bacteria. (
There are many kinds of bacteria
or “germs” in the soil, but, as affect- i
ing soil fertility they may be divided i
into the two general classes: Those i
that must nave air laeruuiuj, aim i
those whieh flourish only in the ab- .
sence of air or are able to obtain oxy- I
gen by breaking down compounds <
containing it (anaerobic). Those <
which must have free oxygen or air ]
to live and work for the farmer may
also be put into two classes accord
ing to the work they do. The one
class consists of at least two kinds
and is of value to us chiefly in
breaking down compounds contain
ing nitrogen "and forming nitrates
which are soluble in the soil water.
These bacteria must have, in addi
tion to the organic matter from
which nitrogen is obtained, a rather
warm temperature and air. Under
the most favorable conditions, nitro
gen may be made available so rapid
ly aB to quickly exhaust the supply,
unless measures are taken to replen
ish the supply of vegetable matter
from which it is obtained. Large
quantities of available nitrogen are
necessary to large crop yields and,
hence, the necessity of filling the sou
with large quantities of materials
rich in nitrogen; not only because
the supply in the soil must be main
tained, but also because the bacteria
which convert the insoluble nitrogen
compounds into soluble compounds
such as the crops can use, are most
numerous and active in a soil well
filled with decomposing vegetable
matter.
The other class of helpful bacteria
which need free oxygen or air, are
those which live on the roots of those
plants called legumes, and take nitro
gen from the air for the use of the
plants on whose roots they lire.
Tillage and Bacterial Activity.
The relation of tillage to the activ
ities of these bacteria is apparent,
rhe one class takes nitrogen from
tir in the soil, after using it, turns it
>ver to our legumes to be stored up
n the root and stem for our use.
rhe other must have air in order to
»reak down the nitrogen compounds
n vegetable or organic matter in the
oil, and construct combinations of
litrogen that the plants can use as
ood. Both are our friends and both
aust be supplied with air before
hey can serve us.
mi____ 1__1.1.1.__1 _
1 uu Mr * vvvOOvii) WJ W UiVU Vi 5»UtV
natter containing nitrogen are bro
ken down and nitrates formed that
.re soluble in the soil water are
mown as nitrification. The intensity
>f nitrification is largely dependent
ipon the freedom with which air
nay enter the soil. Deherain found
iO times more nitrates were formed
n a given mass of soil thoroughly
igitated once a week than in an
jqual quantity of soil left unmoved
tor several months. SoIIb that run
together badly, or those that crust
over and become hard—that is, those
that are not well broken and thor
oughly pulverized—are not open to a
Free entrance and circulation of air,
ind consequently the nitrogen-fixing
bacteria which live on the roots of
egumes and gather nitrogen from
:he air of the soil for us, and the
titrifying bacteria that break down
organic matter in the soil and put
:he nitrogen in condition to be used
sy plants, can not work for us to
:heir full capacity.
Air is essential to these important
:hanges and thorough tillage, deep
)reaking and thorough pulveriza
ion, are necessary to permit of the
!ree entrance of air into the soil. In
his connection another curious but
ortunate fact should also be stated.
V. porous soil not only favors helpful
>acterial action, but it Ib thought by
lome that the bacteria in the soil
iirecuy neip xo proauce xne loose,
>orous state known as good tilth.
Bacteria That Do Harm.
The class of toaoteria which thrive
n the soil only when air is largely
jr entirely excluded are known as
lenitrifying bacteria. That is, they
convert the soluble nitrates formed
by the friendly bacteria, above men
tioned, back into insoluble forms
that the crops can not use.
Sour, 1 compact, badly drained,
poorly eultivated soils, into which
the air can not enter freely, are those
in which these unfriendly bacteria
thrive and do their work of locking
up plant food so that our crops can
not use it. Of course, there are other
conditions besides good tillage that
aid the free entrance of air into the
soil, that favor the activities of the
friendly bacteria and hamper the
work of unfriendly “germs”; but
there is probably no more important
benefit derived from tillage than the
ene which comes through opening up
and pulverizing the soil so that air
can enter every portion of it and
supply a necessary condition to the
operation of friendly “germs” and
stop the activities of those that work
PROF. J. F. DUGGAR, O
We present herewith a likeness of
our Alabama Editor, Prof. J. F.
Duggar, Director of the Alabama Ex
periment Station, Auburn, Ala. Our
readers are already more or less ac
quainted with Professor Duggar as
an occasional contributor to our col
umns for many years; but recently
we have engaged his services for an
article each week. He will also an
swer such in quiries regarding agri
cultural matters in Alabama as may
be received from our readers in that
State.
By education, training and experi
ence Prof. Duggar is well equipped
for this work. He was born in west
ern Alabama, Hale County, and re
ceived his early education in a coun
try school and Southern University.
Later he graduated from the Agri
cultural College of Mississippi, in
1887, and has also pursued courses
of study along the line of his special
ty at Cornell, Columbia and Ohio
Universities.
His experience has been a varied
and extensive one as indicated by the
following statement of the positions
L ^ V— 4111 a J
UV UHV Ut<VU • AM *VUa
ture, A. & M. College and Experi
ment Station of Texas; Editor South
ern Live Stock Journal; Assistant Di
rector South Carolina Experiment
Station; Agricultural Editor, Depart
ment of Agriculture, Washington, D.
C.; Professor of Agriculture in the
Alabama Polytechnic Institute dur
ing the past fifteen years, and dur
ing the last seven years Director of
the Alabama Experiment Station.
Professor Duggar is also author of
“Agriculture for Southern Schools,”
which is the adopted text-book on
this subject in the schools of Ala
bama, Virginia and Florida, and of
against us. Tillage favors bacterial
action in the soil, and bacteria break
down and set free plant foods for the
use of our crops—in this sense
“Tillage is manure.”
UR ALABAMA EDITOR.
“Southern Field Crops,” a new book
now in press.
No man knows more of scientific
Southern agriculture than does Prof.
Duggar, and this extensive knowl
edge is supplemented by the owner
ship and practical management of
farm properties for the last fourteen
years.
We want our readers in Alabama
to make free use of Prof. Duggar’s
extensive information and hope they
will write him direct, or to this of
fice, whenever they need help in
solving their everyday farm prob
lems.
xne useiui mower.
Messrs. Editors: No one who has
ever used a mower would ever think
of going back to the old hand scythe
for cutting his grass. We have found
the mowing machine the best Imple
ment for destroying sprouts, briers,
weeds, etc., that we have ever tried.
When in our teens we well remem
ber how we would have to take the
mattock and dig up those detestable
sassafras sprouts, and each time they
would come back four-fold.
Now* when we wish to rid a field
of sprouts, along in August we mount
our mowing machine and mow the
sprouts down. A few times’ mowing
and we have no more sprouts.
For destroying the ragweed mow
just when they commence to bloom.
Rake and cure them for hay. Any
one who has never tried ragweeds for
hay will be surprised at the nutri
ment there is in them, especially for
horses and mules.
In running our machine we always
see that all nuts and bolts are tight,
ed. To stop that rattling or knoek
j ing fuss we so often hear when the
and keep all wearing parts well oil
machine is running, we have found
that putting a piece of leather of
medium thickness around ball on
knife-head where it joins to pitman
rod stops the knocking and also the
wear. L. A. STRUPB.
Water near the surface of the soil
reduces the temperature and shots
off the supply of air which Is essen
tial to the best growth of the plant
w
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right man.
B. B. FENCE COMPANY, Racine, Win.
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