Fertilizers
Category:
SOME GENERAL PRINCIPLES WHICH APPLY TO THE GROWING OF CLOVERS
On certain soils low in fertility and much deficient in
humus, it may be necessary to apply fertilizers in some form before
clovers will grow vigorously. Such are sandy soils that have been much
worn by cropping, and also stiff clays in which the humus has become
practically exhausted. In such instances green crops that can be grown
on such lands, as rye, for instance, plowed under when the ear begins to
shoot, will be found helpful. If this can be followed on the sandy soil
with some crop to be fed off upon the land, as corn, for instance, and
the clover is sown, successful growth is likely to follow. On clays in
the condition named it may not be necessary to grow a second crop before
sowing clover, since in these soils the lack is more one of humus than
of plant food. The application of farmyard manure will answer the same
purpose, if it can be spared for such a use.
Other soils are so acid that clovers will not grow on them until the
acidity is corrected, notwithstanding that plant food may be present in
sufficient quantities. Such are soils, in some instances at least, that
have been newly drained, also soils that grow such plants as sorrels.
This condition will be improved if not entirely corrected by the
application of lime. On such soils this is most cheaply applied in the
air-slaked form, such as is used in plastering and in quantities to
effect the end sought. These will vary, and can only be ascertained
positively by experiment.
Usually it is not necessary to apply much farmyard manure in order to
induce growth in nearly all varieties of clover, and after free growth
is obtained, it is not usually necessary to supply any subsequently for
the specific purpose named. In some soils, however, alfalfa is an
exception. It may be necessary to enrich these with a liberal dressing
of farmyard manure to insure a sufficiently strong growth in the plants
when they are young. Having passed the first winter, further dressings
are not absolutely essential, though they may prove helpful.
Farmyard manure applied on the surface will always stimulate the growth
of clovers, but it is not common to apply manure thus, as the need for
it is greater in growing the other crops of the farm. When thus applied,
it should be in a form somewhat reduced, otherwise the coarse parts may
rake up in the hay. It is better applied in the autumn or early winter
than in the spring, as then more of the plant food in it has reached the
roots of the clover plants, and they have also received benefit from the
protection which it has furnished them in winter.
In a great majority of instances, soils are sufficiently well supplied
with the more essential elements of fertility to grow reasonably good
crops of clover, hence it has not usually been found necessary to apply
commercial fertilizers to stimulate growth, as in the growing of
grasses. In some instances, however, these are not sufficiently
available, especially is this true of potash. Gypsum or land plaster has
been often used to correct this condition, and frequently with excellent
results. It also aids in fixing volatile and escaping carbonates of
ammonia, and conveys them to the roots of the clover plants. It is
applied in the ground form by sowing it over the land, and more commonly
just when the clover is beginning to grow. The application of 50 to 200
pounds per acre has in many instances greatly increased the growth,
whether as pasture, hay or seed. The following indications almost
certainly point to the need of dressings of land plaster: 1. When the
plants assume a bluish-green tint, rather than a pea-green, while they
are growing. 2. When the plants fail to yield as they once did. 3. When
young plants die after they have begun to grow in the presence of
sufficient moisture. 4. When good crops can only be grown at long
intervals, as, say, 5 to 8 years. It has also been noticed that on some
soils where gypsum has long been used in growing clover the response to
applications of the plaster is a waning one, due doubtless to the too
rapid depletion of the potash in the soil.
Potassic fertilizers give the best results when applied to clovers, but
dressings of phosphoric acid may also be helpful. Applications of
muriate or sulphate of potash or kainit may prove profitable, but on
many soils they are not necessary in growing clover. Wood ashes are also
excellent. They furnish potash finely divided and soluble, especially
when applied in the unleached form. When applied unleached at the rate
of 50 bushels per acre and leached at the rate of 200 bushels, the
results are usually very marked in stimulating growth in clover.
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