>B 189 S85 'opy 1 SB 189 .S85 Copy 1 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE "" BULLETIN No. 498 Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry WM. A. TAYLOK, Chief Washington, D. C. February 19, 1917 EXPERIMENTS WITH SPRING CEREALS AT THE EASTERN OREGON DRY- FARMING SUBSTATION MORO, OREG. By DAVID E. STEPHENS, Station Superintendent Office of Cereal Investigations CONTENTS Page Introduction . . . .' 1 Description of the StalSosi 2 Soli 3 Climatic Conditions 5 Experimental Methods 11 Dimensions of Plats , 11 Treatment of Plats 12 'Vreal Experiments 14 Spring Wheat 14 Page Cereal Experiments — Continued. Spring Oats 26 Spring Barley 31 Comparative Value of Wheat, Oate, and Barley 35 Spring Emmer 35 Grain Sorghums 36 Summary 36 WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1917 ^NgV« > IVJg?.jaM BI Monograph n' 0« Of D«- MAR 2 1917 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE BULLETIN No. 498 Cflf* Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry *^fL Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry WM. A. TAYLOR, Chief ^y^f^^^JT. Washington, D. C. February 19, 1917 EXPERIMENTS WITH SPRING CEREALS AT THE EASTERN OREGON DRY-FARMING SUBSTATION, MORO, OREG. By David E. Stephens, Station Superintendent, Office of Cereal Investigations. CONTENTS, Page. Introduction " 1 Description of the station 2 Soil 3 Climatic conditions 5 Experimental methods 11 Dimensions of plats 11 Treatment of plats 12 Cereal experiments 14 Spring wheat 14 Cereal experiments — Continued. Spring oats 26 Spring barley 31 Comparative value of wheat, oats, and barley 35 Spring emmer 35 Grain sorghums 36 Summary 30 INTRODUCTION. The Eastern Oregon Dry-Farming Substation ^ was established at Moro, Greg., in 1909. The land was purchased and the buildings (fig. 1) erected with funds contributed by Sherman County. The expense of mamtenance is borne jomtly by the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station and the Bureau of Plant Industry. A cooperative agreement between the Bureau of Plant Industry and the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station specifies that ''The objects of the cooperative investigations shall be (a) to improve the cereals of the Pacific coast region by introducing or producing better varieties than those now grown, especially with regard to drought resistance, yield, quality, earliness, etc.; (b) to determine the best methods of cultivation and crop rotation for grain production; and (c) to conduct such other experiments as may seem advisable for the accomplishment of the greatest possible good to the cereal interests of the State of Oregon." FuU credit is given to the Oregon Agri- »From the establishment of the Moro substation until November, 1911, Mr. H. J. C. Umberger was superintendent. In February, 1912, the writer was appointed superintendent. 67313°— Bull. 498—17 1 BULLETIN 498, U. S. DEPAETMENT OF AGEICULTUKE. ^, D s cultural Experiment Station and to Sherman County for their share in obtaining the cooperative results reported in this publication. Some preliminary work was done in 1910, but most of the experi- ments were not started until 1911. The investigational work at Moro comprises tests of methods of production and improvement of cereals, including crop rotation and tillage. This bulletin deals only with the varietal tests of spring-sown cereals, including wheat, emmer, oats, barley, and grain sorghums. DESCRIPTION OF THE STATION. The Eastern Oregon Dry-Farming Substation is located in the southwestern part of the Columbia Basin/ near Moro, in Shennan County, Oreg. Eastern Oregon, as the term is used locally, refers to all that portion of the State east of the Cascade Mountains. Sherman County lies along the Columbia River, the northern border of the State. It is really about midway of the State from east to west. Moro is < Fig. 1. — General view of the station buildings at the Eastern Oregon Dry-Farming Substation, at Mora about 15 miles from the Columbia River, on a branch line of the Oregon- Washington Railroad & Navigation Co. A map of the State, on which the location of the substation is indicated, is shown in figure 2. The elevation of the substation is approximately 2,000 feet. The soil and climatic conditions at Moro are typical of a large part of the Columbia Basin. It is believed, therefore, that the results obtained at the substation are applicable in a general way to most of the Columbia Basin, but especially to districts where the prevailmg soil type is silt loam and where the annual average precipitation ranges from 9 to 12 inches. The substation comprises 233 acres, about 200 of which are till- able. Like most of the Columbia Basin lands, the surface is very rolling, nearly every direction and inclination of slope being repre- sented. On the experimental plats the slopes vary from nearly level 1 For a general description of the Columbia Basin, see Hunter, Byron, Farm practice in the Columbia Basin uplands, U. S. Dept. Agr., Farmers' Bui. 294, 30 p., 1907. SPRING CEREALS AT MORO, OREG. 3 land to a rise of 11 feet per 100. A contour map of the substation is shown in figure 3. For the purpose of comparing the soil and climatic conditions at Moro with those of other localities, a brief description is given of the soil and chmate at the substation. SOIL. The soil at the substation is the fine silt loam characteristic of a large portion of the Columbia Basin. It is classified by the Bureau of Soils as Yakima silt loam. It is derived largely from the decom- ''SH RMAN/f ! CLACKAMAS \-J^ ^,\[}^' • lA 3/'i< E b! I G R A N T j ^\ ,^ (:.->^"i A R N E Y ;oV)< ®/^:«K5i:,rft? 0\ K5(i7d/7?%r/?/V r-asicv \ I J A C K S O N Josephine! ®^^'^'^> Qr^ *>^;^ U-^Z/vy^ )\U^/ V M| /Oil , N /■ ■ Fig. 2.— Map of Oregon, showing contour lines east of the Cascade Range and the location of the Eastern Oregon Dry-Farming Substation, at Moro. position of the basaltic or lava rock by which it is underlain. UnUke some of the soils nearer the Columbia River, the percentage of sand is not high enough to cause trouble from soil shifting or blowing. The soil is easily worked and requires little cultivation to put it in good tilth, the only implements really necessary for making a good seed bed being a plow and a spike-tooth harrow. The disk harrow, however, is frequently used prior to plowing, and a bar weeder for surface cultivation of the summer fallow. According to Bradley,^ the general composition of eastern Oregon soils, of which the sub- station soil is typical, is as shown in Table I. > Bradley, C. E. Soils of Oregon. Oreg. Agr. Expt. Sta. Bui. 112, iS p. 1912. BULLETIN 498, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. SPRING CEREALS AT MORO, OREG. Table I. — Composition of silt loam soil in the Columbia Basin. Constituents. Total. Soluble in 1.115 HCl. Constituents. Total. Soluble in 1.115 HCl. Silica (SiOo) Per cent. 62.85 1.63 4.52 1.94 .04 Per cent. 0.34 .74 3.05 1.66 Iron and aluminum oxids (FeoO^ and AI2O3) Per cent. 8.47 .30 .11 .37 Per cent. Potash (KoO) .' 8.37 I.ime(Cad) Phosphoric a,cid (P2O5) .21 Manganese oxid (Mn304) Volatile From analyses of surface soiL obtained from both virgin and cropped areas Bradley concludes that "while the percentage of nitrogen in these soils has remained practically constant under continual crop- ping for, in extreme cases, 25 years, there has been a marked decrease in the carbon or organic content." Probably on account of this deficiency in humus the surface soil at the substation is inchned to run together or pack in the spring from the effects of winter precipi- tation. The soil is remarkably uniform in texture, absorbs water readily, and has a high moisture-holding capacity. At the substation the depth of the soil to the rock formation underneath varies from 1 to 9 feet, the deeper soil being on the higher elevations and on the northward slopes. Where the ground slopes toward the west or southwest, the soil usually is shallow and therefore less suited to cereal production, because of its inability to store sufficient moisture to mature crops. Most of the farm had been cropped to grain for about 25 years prior to the establishment of the substation. CLIMATIC CONDITIONS. Careful records of climatological phenomena have been kept since January, 1910, in cooperation with the Biophysical Laboratory of the Bureau of Plant Industry. The weather-observing equipment consists of standard snow and ram gauges, maximum and minimum thermometers, self-recording thermographs, an evaporation tank, an anemometer, and a psychrometer. PRECIPITATION. In no other place in the world is cereal production conducted on such an extensive scale with so Uttle precipitation as in the Colum- bia Basin. As Table II shows, the lowest annual precipitation in the vicinity of Moro durmg the past 10 years has been 7.68 inches. The precipitation for the years from 1905 to 1909, inclusive, was recorded at Grass Valley, which is about 10 miles south of Moro, while that for the years 1910 to 1915, inclusive, was recorded at the substation. The average annual precipitation for the 11-year period from 1905 to 1915 is 11.35 inches. The highest annual precipitation since records have been kept at the substation is 14.89 inches. 6 BULLETIISr 498, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICTJLTUEE. Table II. — Monthly and annual precipitation at Grass Valley and Moro, Oreg., showing the average, maximum, and minimum for each month, from 1905 to 1915, inclusive. [Precipitation data (in inches): Previous to December, 1909, from the Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Co., Grass Valley, Oreg.; since December, 1909, from the substation records. T^trace.] Year. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May. June. July. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. An- nual. 1905 0.76 1.00 2.65 .55 2.56 .95 1.18 3.58 1.33 2.20 1.75 0.20 .85 .48 .02 1.03 1.47 .46 1.36 .23 1.16 2.31 0.05 1.65 1.60 .68 .68 .63 .25 .69 .76 .11 1.27 0.03 .10 1.06 .11 .10 .66 .35 .78 .58 2.06 .65 1.70 1.05 .90 1.41 .49 1.25 1.05 1.33 2.27 .76 2.06 1.30 1.85 .89 .37 .99 .89 .64 .42 1.39 .66 .36 0.36 T .30 .22 .10 T .00 .02 .06 .08 .57 T .34 .71 .34 .02 .00 T .74 .05 T .05 0.75 .35 .50 .12 .45 .20 4.03 .21 .49 1.05 1.14 1.36 T .20 1.11 .87 .70 .33 .78 1.87 1.48 .23 0.85 2.59 1.46 1.12 3.34 2.76 .30 1.30 1.45 .88 2.89 1.35 2.22 2.68 1.63 1.14 .88 .61 2.12 1.69 .88 1.61 8.71 1906 12.00 1907 13.43 1908 7.68 1909 11.77 1910 10.39 1911 9.20 1912 13. 33 1913 12.17 1914 11.32 1915 14.89 Average 1.68 3.58 .55 .87 2.31 .02 .76 1.65 .05 .59 2.00 .03 1.30 2.27 .49 .89 1.85 .37 .16 .57 .00 .20 .74 .00 .84 4.03 .12 .81 1.87 T 1.72 3.34 .30 1.53 2.58 .61 11.35 Maximum . 14.86 Minimum 7.68 The distribution of the precipitation usually is favorable for grow- ing cereals, nearly all of the rain falling during the months from Fig. 4.— Experimental plats at the Moro substation in the spring of 1916, showing the ruu-ofl during the melting of a heavy covering of snow. September to June. July and August are practically rainless. In some years there is considerable run-off in tlie winter or early spring (fig. 4). Soil samples taken to a depth of 6 feet on 20 plats in May, 1913, had an average of only 1 per cent more moisture than samples taken on the same plats in November, 1912, though the precipitation during the interval measured 5.5 inches. From September 1, 1914, to February 28, 1915, the precipitation was 8.35 inches, but this penetratecf stubble ground to a depth of less than 2 feet. The rains SPRING CEREALS AT MORO, OREG. \ "N) which occur during the late spring, summer, and autumn months are of such a nature that practically all of the water is absorbed by the soil, but much of the winter precipitation is frequently lost as run-off. As is shown in Table II, the wettest months are November, December, and January. Much of the precipita- tion during these months is usually in the form of snow. The 1 1-year average precipitation by months is shown graphically in figure 5. The precipitation available for grow- ing cereals during any particular season in this section is largely that which falls from September 1 to August 31. In comparing crop production with precipitation data, therefore, records for calendar years are not so valuable as those for crop years ending August 3 1 . The precipitation which falls dur- ing the growing season is also an im- portantf actor in influencing crop yields. The average seasonal precipitation for small grains (March to July, inclu- sive), as shown in Table III, is 3.83 inches. Table III gives precipitation records for each of the five crop years for which results are reported in this bulletin, 1911 to 1915, inclusive, and also the precipitation for the growing season in each of those years. Table III. — Precipitation at Moro, Oreg., in crop years {ending Aug. 31) and in the growing season {March to July, inclusive), for five years, 1911 to 1915, inclusive. A/O^. ^£'C. Fig. 5.— Diagram showing the average monthly precipitation in inches at Moro, Greg., during the 11 years from 1905 to 1915. Period. Inches. Period. Inches. Amiual: Sept. 1, 1910, to Aug. 31, 1911 8.47 14.19 11.08 12.53 13.31 Seasonal: Mar. Ito July 31, 1911 2.29 Sept 1 1911, to Aug. 31, 1912 Mar. 1 to July 31, 1912 3.24 Sept 1, 1912, to Aug. 31, 1913 Mar. Ito July 31, 1913 5.06 Sept. 1, 1913, to Aug. 31, 1914 Mar. Ito July 31, 1914 3.67 Sept. 1, 1914, to Aug. 31, 1915 Mar. 1 to July 31, 1915 4.91 Average 11.92 3.83 It wiU be observed that the crop year of 1912, from the standpoint of precipitation, was the most favorable for crop production of any of the five years for which data are here given. The crop year of 1911 was very unfavorable, the total precipitation being only 8.47 inches, of which only 2.29 inches fell during the growing season. The average for the five years ending August 31 is 0.57 inch more than 8 BULLETIN 498, U. S, DEPARTMENT OF AGKICULTTJRE. tlie 11-year average, and the average for the growmg season in the five years is 0.13 inch more than the 11-year average for the same months. EVAPORATION. Records of evaporation from a free water surface have been kept during the seven months, April to October, inclusive, in the years 1911 to 1915, inclusive. The method used is the same as at other stations cooperating with the Biophysical Laboratory "of the Bureau of Plant Industry. 1 The evaporation tank at Moro is 2 feet deep and 6 feet in diameter. Table IV gives the monthly evaporation, April to October, inclusive, in the years 1911 to 1914, inclusive. Table IV. — Evaporation, in inches, from a free water surface at Moro, Oreg., in the seven months, April to October, inclusive, for five years, 1911 to 1915, inclusive. Month. April May June July August September . October Total 5.92 6.13 9.61 11.57 9.28 4.16 2.34 49.01 4.51 6.75 7.75 7.89 6.72 4.50 2.60 40.72 4.09 6.24 7.36 7.90 7.82 4.82 3.52 41.75 1914 4.02 7.43 8.29 11. 43 9.64 4.40 2.20 47.41 5.13 5.90 8.45 9.05 9.59 5. 3D 2.98 46.40 Average. 4.73 6.50 8.29 9.57 8.61 4.64 2.73 45. 07 The liighest evaporation occurred in 1911, when the evaporation for the seven months was approximately five times greater than the total precipitation for that year. The lowest evaporation was in 1912, when the ratio of the evaporation for the seven months to the total precipitation for the year was about 3 to 1 . During the 6-month period from April to September, inclusive, the average evapora- tion at the substation in the years from 1911 to 1915, inclusive, was 42.34 inches. Tliis is greater than the evaporation reported by Briggs and Belz^ during a 6-month period at any station north of the fortieth parallel of latitude (the northern boundary of Kansas). Table V shows the evaporation and precipitation and the winter- wheat yields at the Moro substation and two other representative dry-farming stations, one in the Great Basin at Nephi, Utah, at an elevation of nearly 6,000 feet, and one in the northern Great Plains at Moccasin, Mont., at an elevation of 4,300 feet. The wheat yields reported in Table V were produced under the same method, altor- nathig wheat with summer fallow, at all the stations. Investiga- tions similar to those conducted at More are being carried on at Nephi and at Moccasin. The precipitation and evaporation data are taken from the records of the Biophysical Laboratory and the wheat yields from the records of the Office of Cereal Investigations. • Briggs, L. J., and Belz, J. O. Dry farming in relation to rainfall and evaporation. U. S. Dept. Agr., Bur. Plant Indus. Bui. 188, p. 16-20. 1910. SPRING CEREALS AT MORO, OREG. 9 Data are available for the years 1909 to 1915 at Moccasin, for the years 1908 to 1915 at Nephi, and for the years 1911 to 1915 at Moro. Table V. — Precipitation and evaporation data and yields of luinter and spring wheat at Moccasin, Mont., Nephi, Utah, and Moro, Oreg., in the years indicated. Character of data. Average precipitation: Annual inches. Seasonal (April to August, inclusive) do Average evaporation: Seasonal (April to August, inclusive) do Ratio of annual precipitation to seasonal evaporation , Ratio of saasonal precipitation to seasonal evaporation Average yield of D.^st winter wheat bushels. . Averags yield of best spring wheat do Moccasin, Nephi, 1909 to 1908 to 1915. 1915. 16.66 12.78 9.06 5.15 27.96 38.71 1:1.68 1:3 1:3. 1 1:7.5 35.7 25 27.6 10 Moro, 1911 to 1915. 12.18 3.39 37.70 1: 3.2 1:11.2 "23 22.1 a Average yield of 10 plats of Turkey wheat in tillage experiments. The average annual precipitation and the average seasonal pre- cipitation are greater at Moccasin and at Nephi than at Moro. The average evaporation from April to August, inclusive, is 1.01 inches greater at Nephi and 9.74 inches less at Moccasin than at Moro. The ratio of annual precipitation to seasonal evaporation is slightly greater at Moro than at Neplii, but there is a wide difference between the ratios of seasonal precipitation and seasonal evaporation at Moro and the other two stations. TEMPERATURE. Table VI gives the highest, lowest, and mean temperatures for each month of the years 1911 to 1915, inclusive, and also the average of the means, the average of the maxima, and the average of the minima b}" months for the 5-year period. Table VI. — Mean, maximum, and minimum temperatures at Moro, Oreg., by months, for five years, 1911 to 1915, inclusive. Year. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May. June. July. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Mean: 1911 30.3 29.3 29.5 36.5 29.0 30.6 36. 8 28.8 33.3 36.0 43.5 37.9 38.2 43.8 45.0 40.2 45.7 46.6 47.6 50.8 51.0 54.6 54.6 56.2 53.0 60.6 61.4 60.4 59.5 60.0 70.0 66.0 67.9 70.5 64.8 66.0 62.5 68.0 69.1 71.3 54.8 55.0 57.6 65.5 57.3 46.9 44.9 47.3 49.5 50.6 38.0 40.7 40.7 38.1 38.2 34 1912 1913 28 1914 22 8 1915 32 8 Average... 30.5 33.1 41.7 46.6 53.9 59.6 67.8 07.4 56.0 47.8 39.1 28. G Maximum: 1911 55 51 53 51 41 50.2 46 52 58 38 52 77 65 57 69 70 74 68 75 72 75 86 86 83 88 78 89 96 89 91 93 103 98 101 99 96 89 97 99 100 100 ■ 87 85 88 83 86 75 69 74 69 73 61 61 57 59 54 53 1912. 54 1913 47 1914 46 1915 53 Average... 49.2 67.6 72.8 84.2 91.6 99.4 97.0 85.8 72.0 58.4 50.6 Minimum: 1911 5 -6 5 28 10 9 26 7 28 23 11 20 9 27 30 22 28 28 29 32 30 33 36 32 34 32 37 37 34 40 44 43 41 42 40 42 38 41 43 46 34 31 33 29 36 32 25 28 32 33 4 23 29 19 25 5 1912 19 1913 10 1914 3 1915 11 Average... 8.4 18.6 19.4 27.8 33.0 36.0 42.0 42.0 32.6 30.0 20.0 8.2 67313°— Bull. 498—17- 10 BULLETIN 498, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTUEE. Table VII shows the dates of the latest spring frosts and the earliest autumn frosts, together with the minimum temperature recorded for those dates in the years 1911 to 1915, inclusive. It will be observed from this table that during the five years no frost occurred in June, July, or August. None of the frosts recorded on the dates mentioned in Table VII did any damage to cereals. The longest frost-free period was in 1915, 211 days, and the shortest frost-free period in 1914, 108 days. The average frost-free period for the five years is 155.8 days. Table VII. — Data relating to hilling frosts at the Moro substation in the years 1911 to 1915, inclusive. Last in spring. First in autumn. Frost- Year. Date. Temper- ature. Date. Temper- ature. free period. 1911 May 8 Apr. 29 Apr. 27 May 27 Apr. 8 May 2 ° F. 32 31 31 32 32 Oct. 17 Sept. 3 Oct. 15 Sept. 12 Nov.5 Oct. 5 o p^ 32 31 32 32 30 Days. 162 1912 .. . 127 1913 171 1914 108 1915 211 155.8 The prevailing winds at Moro are from the west, southwest, and northeast. Southwest or west winds usually are accompanied by cool or moderately warm weather in the summer and mild weather in winter, while east or northeast winds are nearly always accompanied by high temperatures in summer and low temperatures in winter. Though wind velocities are never exceedingly high, the wind move- ment is quite constant from about March 1 to August 31. The num- ber of miles of wind diu-ing any 24-hour period rarely exceeds 350, 490 miles being the highest number recorded at the substation for any one day of 24 hours during the years 1911 to 1915, inclusive. Table VIII gives the average wind velocity in miles per hour for each month of the years 1911 to 1915, inclusive. Table VIII. — Average wind velocity (in miles per hour), hy months, at the Moro substa- tion in the years 1911 to 1915, inclusive. Year. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May. June. July. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Aver- age. 1911 5.3 3.7 2.4 5.4 3.2 5.4 4.9 2.8 5.0 4.0 6.3 6.1 5.9 5.6 4.7 9.6 8.4 7.3 6.5 6.7 9.2 7.8 8.3 7.1 5.4 11.8 5.9 6.9 8.8 8.2 9.4 5.6 5.9 8.8 8.1 9.2 5.3 6.3 7.5 7.5 7.2 2.8 3.8 6.0 7.0 4.8 2.0 5.0 4.0 6.1 6.7 2.9 4.0 4.5 4.3 6.5 4.1 2.7 3.9 5.4 7.5 1912 4.9 1913 5.1 1914 6.1 1915 5.9 Average 4.0 4.4 5.7 7.7 7.5 8.2 7.6 7.2 5.2 4.4 4.5 4.5 5.9 SPEING CEREALS AT MOEO, OKEG. 11 Table VIII shows that June is the windiest month, though there is little difference in the monthly averages for any month from April to August, inclusive. The highest average wind velocity for any year in the 5-year period was 7.5 miles per hour, in 1911. The year 1911 was also the one with the least precipitation and the greatest .evap- oration. EXPERIMENTAL METHODS. The experimental work with cereals is conducted for the following purposes: (1) To ascertain what grain varieties are best adapted to the drier districts of the Columbia Basin, (2) to improve the best adapted varieties by selective breeding, (3) to determine what crop- rotation systems will prove most profitable in connection with grain raising, and (4) to find out the most economical and profitable methods of soil tillage for cereal production in this section. The work with spring grains during the first few years was along two lines, the testing of varieties and the improvement of varieties by pure-line selections. No work in hybridization has been attempted. A large number of pure lines have been developed, some of which give promise of being of considerable value. In this bulletin only the results of the varietal experiments will be given. In the testing of varieties, field plats and nursery rows are used, the unit of comparison being a tenth-acre or twentieth-acre in the plat experiments and 1-rod or 2-rod replicated rows in the nursery experiments. Eight-rod rows and eightieth-acre plats also have been used in the nursery. While a rather careful study is made of the varieties in the nursery and in the plat experiments and numerous notes taken on the habits of the plants, the value of a variety has been judged largely by its yield of grain. DIMENSIONS OF PLATS. As shown in figure 8, the substation farm is laid out in series of tenth-acre plats 8 rods long and 2 rods wide. The series are sepa- rated by roads 16^ feet wide and are divided into blocks of 10 plats each by roads of the same width. Alleys 4| feet wide separate the individual plats within these blocks. When twentieth-acre plats were used, each tenth-acre plat was divided in half by an alley 22 inches wide. Tlie twentieth-acre plats discussed in this bulletin actually contain only 2,062.5 square feet, or 115.5 square feet less than one-twentieth of an acre. In computing yields per acre, however, no account has been taken of this shortage. Acre yields computed from the ^delds of small plats are likely to be slightly exaggerated on account of the increased proportion of margin. The plan first adopted at the substation for the varietal experi- ments was to grow a single tenth of an acre of each variety, with 12 BULLETIN 40R, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. every fiftli plat sown uniformly to one variety and regarded as a check. The two methods described in previous publications ^ have been used to determine relative or computed yields, but neither has proved entirely satisfactory. The variation in check-plat yields of spring grains usually has not been great. Occasionally, however, wide variations occur in the yields of check plats which can not be explained in any satisfactory manner. Fig. 6.— a bar weeder, or "slicker," in operation at the Eastern Oregon Dry-Farming Substation. Beginning with 1913, each variety of spring grain in a varietal test has been sown in duplicate twentieth-acre plats. The plats in the two series are arranged as follows : 1 11 2 12 3 13 4 14 5 15 6 16 7 17 8 18 9 19 10 20 11 1 12 2 13 3 14 4 15 5 16 6 17 7 18 8 19 9 20 10 All yields in this bulletin are reported in bushels per acre, based on the actual yields of a single tenth-acre or the average actual yields of two twentieth-acre plats. TREATMENT OF PLATS. The general practice in growing cereals in the Columbia Basin is to alternate a grain crop with bare fallow, commonly called summer I Cardon, P. V. Cereal investigations at the Nephi substation. U. S. Dept. Agr. Bui. 30, p. 12, 33. 1913. Clark, J. Allen. Cereal experiments at Dickinson, N. Dak. U. S. Dept. Agr. Bui. 33, p. 11, 12. 1914. SPRING CEREALS AT MORO, OREG. 13 fallow. This alternation has been followed almost without excep- tion in the varietal experiments at the substation. The station crops have been produced by the methods in general use by the farm- ers in this section, and the yields reported are about those which ordinarily may be expected. The land is plowed 7 to 8 inches deep in April, an early spring disking usually being given prior to plowing. Immediately after plowing, the gi'ound is harrowed once with a spike-tooth harrow, and another harrowing is given when weed growth starts. Later in the season, in order to eradicate weeds, the plats are cultivated with a weeder, locally known as a bar weeder. If necessary, this implement is used again later, the aim being to keep the fallow ground free from weeds. In order to accomplish Fig. 7. — Plats of the rotation experiments at the Moro substation, showing summer-fallow land In almost ideal condition in the foreground and small grains and corn in the background. Photographed in July, 1914. this it sometimes has been necessary to cultivate so frequently that the soil has been too finely pulverized. The soil at the substation, if cultivated too much, may become so compacted after the winter snows and rains that much of the precipitation of winter and early spring is lost as run-off instead of being absorbed. Figure 6 shows the bar weeder in operation, and figure 7 shows the condition in which the fallow is usually kept during the summer months. Just prior to seeding sprmg grains, the ground is double disked and then harrowed once. Seeding is done with a disk drill, and no cultivation is given after seeding. The land in the vicinity of the substation is infested with several weeds that have been found difficult to control in the experimental plats. The two most troublesome in spring grains are the Russian thistle (Salsola pestifer) and tumbleweed (Amaranthus graecizans). Where good stands of grain are obtamed the latter weed is rarely found, but the Russian thistle sometimes has been troublesome, especially in early-sown spring grain and in grain with thin stands. 14 BULLETIN" 498, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTUKE. In the experimental plats the weeds have been destroyed by hand hoeing. All varieties are carefully rogued to free them from accidental mixtm-es. They are cut with a binder, shocked, and then thrashed several weeks later with a small separator run by a gasoline engine. The grain from each plat is weighed after thrashing and the bushel weight determined. No straw weights have been recorded. The rows and small plats are thrashed with a small separator designed for that purpose. CEREAL EXPERIMENTS. SPRING WHEAT. From the standpoint of total production in bushels, spring wheat is not as important in the Columbia Basin as winter wheat. Con- FiG. 8. — Varietal plats of spring grain at the Moro substation, showing summer-fallow land in the fore- ground. Photographed July, 1914. siderable spring wheat is grown, however, on account of the fact that dry weather frequently prevails until so late in the autumn that winter wheat can not be sown with safety. Winter wheat is better adapted to the present summer-fallow system of grain production in the Columbia Basin, because it permits a better distribution of farm labor. Winter wheat also usually gives yields somewhat higher than those of spring wheat. Many wheat varieties, like Pacific Bluestem and Little Club, are sown in the Columbia Basin in cither the autumn or spring, except on the higher elevations. VARIETAL EXPERIMENTS. Seventy-seven varieties of spring wheats have been tried at the substation. Some of these, which did not appear to be at all adapted, were discarded after a 2-year trial. New varieties have been added from time to time, and 5-year average yields have been obtained for SPEING CEREALS AT MOEO, OREG. 15 only seven varieties. Table IX gives the annual acre yields of all the spring-wheat varieties which have been tested. In this table the varieties are arranged in alphabetical order, without regard to the period during which they were grown, their rank in yield, or other relationships. Figure 8 shows a portion of the plats in the varietal experiments with spring grain in 1914. Table IX. — Spring-wheat varieties tested at the Moro substation, showing the yields obtained in each year the variety ivas grown during the Jive years, 1911 to 1915, inclusive. Variety. C.I. . No. Division. Origin. Yield per acre (bushels).a 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 Abd-el-Kader 2075 Durum Poulard Common do Tunis Southern Europe. . 11. 1 15.5 13.6 c9.4 23.0 15.0 6 9.4 2407-1 2407-2 2944 2681 2823 2511-2 2826-1 2921-1 2227 2227-1 4155 1697 2824-1 2397-1 1732 2398 2398-1 1517 2873 2669 2124-3 4157 5025 17S7 2088-4 2200-1 2402-1 2405 2203-2 1440 1516 2246 2126-2 4066 2099 2099-1 1593 2235 4158 4067 1584-1 2086 2794 2089 2089-1 2793 3022-1 2228 2346-1 3036-2 4074 2495 2670 2247 2247-1 Turkestan do 6 1.5 6 8.3 C8.4 c7.7 (0 3.5 6 13.8 6 4.2 11.2 6 13.6 3.8 14.5 (0 (0 C9.8 7.8 (^) C9.4 ^■31.2 dl2.6 dll.O (0 7.5 C18.3 (0 12.9 6 17.8 8.6 19.0 6 12.0 (0 dl2.8 12.8 '•14.2 Do 22.9 20.2 Barbilla do do do Durum Common Club Teneriffe Beseler Squarehead Argentina 6 8.9 18.0 C15.6 c 12.7 6 3.1 18.3 24.7 6 14.6 6 6.6 Ble Noir Abyssinia 23.6 Bluestem. (See Pacific Bluestem.) Bobs Australia 25.4 Bola Blanca Mexico 7.H 6 10.6 b9.7 7.3 b6.6 6 8.7 dS.3 dll.4 6 6.2 6 8.8 («) 6 4.8 (0 dl2.5 (0 19.0 16.6 6 15.6 C13.3 C12.6 f 9.3 12.8 C9.8 C14.3 6 14.3 6 17.5 C6.6 C9.3 c 15. 4 C6.0 6 19.3 6 25. (0 (0 21.3 19.2 25.2 do Common do Mexico 19.6 21.0