Full text of Agricultural News Letter : Vol. 8, No. 2

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I
NEWS LETTER

V IC U I h i V A
F E D E R A L
Vol. 8, No. 2

R E S E R VE

B A N K

O F___D A L L A S

DALLAS, TEXAS

February 15, 1953

Som e Facts on Supplem ental Irrigation
An “irrigation short course” was held in
Tyler, Texas, last month under the sponsor­
ship of the East Texas Farm and Ranch Club.
Participants in the program and in the dis­
cussion were technicians with agricultural ex­
periment stations, county agricultural agents,
and farmers who have had experience with
supplemental irrigation systems.
Many farmers in central and east Texas
and in Louisiana are considering the installa­
tion of supplemental irrigation equipment to
overcome the effects of inadequate or poorly
distributed rainfall. During recent years, use
of such systems has increased greatly yields
of cotton, corn, vegetables, and pastures, even
in the more humid areas of the Southwest.
In view of the timeliness of the information
presented in the short course, some of the per­
tinent facts included in the summary of the
meeting are quoted below. Additional details
may be obtained by writing to Mr. C. R.
Heaton, Director of the East Texas Agricul­
tural Council, Tyler, Texas, or from the va­
rious agricultural experiment stations in the
Southwest.
“PERMITS FOR WATER USE: It’s best
to get a permit for water used in irrigating.
State Board of Water Engineers, 308 West
15th Street, Austin, Texas, will send necessary
forms and instructions for making applica­
tion ... you’ll need a map of the area. If you
have a permit, you’ll be safe, if and when the
Water Code is rewritten__ If you use water
and deprive a man downstream of essential
water, he can get a Court Injunction to stop

you from depriving him of necessary water.
You can do the same, if you’re being deprived.
“ENGINEERING A SSIST A N C E : Soil
Conservation Service can give you technical
help in planning an irrigation project; your
county agent may help, too. The State does
not have technicians available for work on in­
dividual projects at present time.
“RESERVOIR REQUIREMENT: Size of
reservoir will depend on several factors, but
a good rule of thumb is: Provide at least 2
acre-feet of impounded water for each acre to
be irrigated__

“RESERVOIR COST: Depends on many
factors__ In east Texas, a cost of about $50
per acre-foot of water to be impounded is a
reasonable guess.
* * * * *
“ARE WELLS ECONOMICAL? In most
cases, surface reservoirs and spring-fed
branches will be more economical sources of
water supply than water wells in east Texas.
Cost of lifting water from source to delivery
point must be considered when anticipating
operating expenses. Greater the lift, greater
the cost.
“EQUIPMENT INVESTMENT: Initial
equipment investment will vary with systems,
ranging from about $35 per acre to $125 per
acre. Probably $90 would be average for east
Texas.

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AGRICULTURAL NEWS LETTER

“WATER REQUIREMENTS: Frequency
of applying water will depend on several fac­
tors; some crops require more water than
others, pastures more than truck crops. Other
factors: water-holding capacity of soil, amount
of natural rainfall, daily temperatures, etc.
“Generally speaking, however, sandy soils
require about 1.2 inches of water every 6 to
8 days. Heavier soils, 2 inches every 10 days.
“PUMPING RATE: To apply 1 inch of
water to an acre of ground, a pumping rate of
at least 450 gallons per minute is required.
* * * * *
“FERTILIZER REQUIREMENTS: Gen­
erally, heavier use of fertilizer is required and
pays with irrigation. At Gilmer station, 1,200
pounds of 8-8-8 used in some cases on sweet
potatoes, with good results. Soil analysis be­
fore project is begun is recommended to de­
termine fertilizer needs.
* * * * *
“NIGHT VS. DAYTIM E: Eric Mallory,
Smith County farm manager, says he finds
more economical use of water at night, due
to lack of rapid evaporation. J. F. Rosborough,
horticultural marketing specialist, says that,
on certain truck crops, daytime sprinkling may
promote some cracking.
“PASTURES: Irrigated pastures at Lewisburg, Tennessee, produced a net increase of
49 percent of TDN (Total Digestible Nu­
trients) above nonirrigated pastures—
“P. R. Johnson of Texas A. & M. College
says irrigation system would allow area farm­
ers to begin seeding winter pastures in late
August or early September — about 45 to 90
days earlier than normal rainfall usually al­
lows.
“TRUCK CROPS: J. F. Rosborough said
irrigation holds great promise for east Texas
truck crops; it could raise the quality and ex­
tend the growing season to take advantage of
better prices in the fall. He advised against

sprinkling tomatoes after gathering begins, to
avoid increased cracking.”
* * * * *

Increasing East Texas Corn Yields
Hybrid seed, fe rti­
lizer, and winter le ­
gumes are three im ­
portant ingredients in
a successful corn p ro ­
duction program, ac­
cording to results at
the Texas A g ric u l­
tu ra l E x p e rim e n t
Texas.
Several important facts are revealed by
these tests:
* Hybrid corns outyielded all of the openpollinated varieties. Texas hybrid Nos. 20, 24,
26, and 28 were among the best producers in
these tests.
* Plighest yields were obtained when 6 0 0
pounds per acre of 5-10-5 fertilizer were a p ­
plied prior to planting, with 270 pounds per
acre of ammonium nitrate applied as a side­
dressing during the growing season.
* When corn followed a fertilized crop of
hairy vetch, the addition of a complete fe r­
tilizer at planting time did not give any sig­
nificant increase in yield.
* The application of either nitrogen or phos­
phoric acid gave only small increases in yields,
but a combination of the two plant foods in­
creased yields as much as six times. Potash
was of value only when used in combination
with nitrogen and phosphoric acid.
* Spacing the corn plants 24 inches apart in
the row gave higher yields than either 18- or
12-inch spacing.

AGRICULTURAL NEWS LETTER

3

Fertilise Pastures Now

Cordova—-N ew Barley Variety

Small-grain and legume pastures should be
topdressed now with from 30 to 40 pounds of
nitrogen per acre, says E. M. Trew, associate
agronomist for the Texas Agricultural Exten­
sion Service.

High yields, excellent test weight, smooth
awn, and resistance to mildew are some of the
characteristics of the new Cordova variety of
barley released by the United States Depart­
ment of Agriculture and the Texas Agricul­
tural Experiment Station.

Mr. Trew adds that if a dry fertilizer is
used, topdressing of these pastures should be
done when the plants are dry. This will avoid
burning the plants. Sufficient moisture to stim­
ulate growth, of course, is necessary to gain
the benefits of this fertilization.
Future fertilizer requirements should be
anticipated and orders placed now with deal­
ers to insure an ample supply when needed.
This is a good time to take soil samples and
send them to Texas A. & M. College for test­
ing to determine the fertilizer needs of a field.
These soil tests cost only $1 per sample and
are one of the best investments that can be
made in the fertilizer program.

Louisiana Landowners Urged
to Plant Pine
About 75,000,000 pine seedlings are avail­
able this season from Louisiana tree nurseries,
according to the Louisiana Forestry Commis­
sion.
This large supply appears to be more than
ample to meet the demand, and A. S. McKean,
forester of the Louisiana State University Ag­
ricultural Extension Service, urges all landowners in the State to plant as many as can
be used profitably on their land.

Cost of the seedlings is very low, and direc­
tions for ordering can be obtained from any
parish agricultural agent or from the Louisiana
Forestry Commission, Baton Rouge. Failure
to utilize the supply this year may force cur­
tailment of production another year.

Cordova is especially well adapted to the
central and Rolling Plains areas of Texas. It
will head from either fall or spring seedings,
and in tests at Denton, Greenville, Temple,
Stephenviile, Iowa Park, and Amarillo, it has
outyielded other varieties by from 5 to 7
bushels per acre over a period of years. In
1948 at the Chillicothe station in northwest
Texas, Cordova produced 72.3 bushels per
acre, compared with 41.1 for Wintex and 52.8
for Texan.
The new variety appears to be as winterhardy as either Wintex or Texan. It probably
would winterkill in the Texas Panhandle and
for that reason is not recommended for fall
seedings in that area.
The variety is not well adapted to the more
humid areas of the State, being highly suscep­
tible to rusts, barley stripe, and other leaf dis­
eases.

Turn Under Legum es Early
Winter legumes should be turned under
about 3 weeks before the seeding of springplanted crops, says I. W. Carson, associate
agronomist of the Louisiana State University
Extension Service.
Turning under the green material early
gives the bacteria of the soil time to break
down the organic matter well ahead of the
growing season. These bacteria feed upon ni­
trogen, and for a short period after turning
under the green manure crop, most of the
available nitrogen in the soil is tied up in the
process of decay, leaving little for plant
growth.

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AGRICULTURAL NEWS LETTER

Control o f Spider Mites on Wheat
Spider mites cause considerable damage to
winter wheat in some seasons, and the results
of several control methods tested by the Con­
servation Experiment Station at Amarillo,
Texas, in the spring of 1952 are of interest.
Several sprays were used in these tests on
wheat 6 to 8 inches high. The five compounds
used in the tests were systox, parathion, metacide, sulphenone, and aramite.
Of the compounds tested, systox and para­
thion proved the most effective, reducing the
infestation of mites from 80 to 100 percent in
most cases. When applied at a high dosage,
systox gave better control over a longer pe­
riod than parathion.
All of these compounds are toxic to humans,
and the manufacturer’s precautions printed on
the container should be observed strictly.
Additional details on this test are given in
the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station’s
Progress Report 1476. Copies may be obtained
from county agricultural agents or by writing
the Experim ent Station, College Station,
Texas.

Fertilize Pecan Trees Now
Pecan trees will produce higher yields and
better nuts if they are fertilized properly, say
specialists at Louisiana State University.
The amount and kind of fertilizer needed
vary with the locality, but generally an 8-8-8,
6-8-8, or 5-10-5 analysis is recommended. Fer­
tilizer should be applied at the rate of 25 to
30 pounds for each square foot in the crosssectional area of the tree trunk. Another rule
of thumb is 2 pounds for each year of age of
the tree.
The fertilizer should be applied well away
from the trunk and extend beyond a point di­
rectly below the tips of the branches. It should

be worked into the soil, or several holes can
be punched in the ground with a pipe and fe r­
tilizer placed in the holes.

O utlook fo r Eggs in 1953
Egg prices may average slightly higher
than a year ago, at least for the next several
months, according to E. D. Parnell, professor
of poultry at Texas A. & M. College.
Fewer laying hens on
farms, increasing popu­
lation, a shortage of
frozen eggs, and recent
heavy demand for stored
shelled eggs are factors
listed by Mr. Parnell to
back up his prediction.
Farmers may respond to the higher egg
prices by ordering more pullets to be placed
in the laying house next fall. Hence, Mr. P a r­
nell suggests that producers make every effort
to gain top production from their laying flocks
during the spring and early summer. P ro ­
ducers who are buying pullets should bu y
early, in order to capitalize on the higher egg
prices anticipated during late summer and
early fall.

Publications
Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, C ol­
lege Station:
Yield and Resistance to Fruit Cracking of
Tomato Varieties in East Texas, Progress
Report 1515, by P. A. Young.
Post-Emergence Effects of N-1-Naphthyl
Phthalamic Acid and Its Derivatives on
Cotton and Certain Weeds, Progress R e ­
port 1517, by H. E. Rea.
Summary of the 1952 Texas Corn Perform ­
ance Tests, Progress Report 1518.
The Agricultural News Letter is prepared in
the Research Department under the direction
of C a r l H. M oore, Agricultural Economist.