State College Experiments Prove Soil Fertility Benefits
Washington State College's long-term farm study demonstrates that crop rotation and manure outperform mono-cropping and summer fallowing.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The importance of keeping livestock and of practicing a rotation of crops in maintaining the producing capacity of the soil is becoming more apparent each year on the State College farm. Three plots show this fact very strikingly. One plot has been growing wheat continually every year since 1899 without any manure or other fertilizer. The second plot has grown wheat every year since 1899 but has had a light application of manure plowed under each fall. The third plot has grown a rotation of wheat, oats, clover, and corn since 1899. The plot that has grown wheat continually without manure promises a very low yield, while the others show better growth than they did fifteen years ago. The college has found that with proper rotation, summer fallowing is no longer necessary to conserve moisture, as fertile soil allows plants to better utilize available rainfall.
“If the soil is sufficiently fertile, one inch of rainfall may carry more food into the plants than two inches of rainfall may dissolve and carry to the plants from a very poor soil.”
These 1914 findings at what is now WSU remain the foundation of regenerative agriculture. Modern environmental concerns regarding soil health and water conservation make these early experiments highly relevant to current climate-resilient farming practices in Eastern Washington.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.