Rotations For California
Categories:
Grains and Forage Crops
I wish to work out a practical system of crop rotation suitable to the
climate and conditions obtaining in southern California. Would you
recommend different systems for grain lands and irrigated lands?
General schemes of rotation are hard to work out in California. They
must be locally revised according to the local temperature conditions
and the local market also. We should endeavor to find out what has been
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successfully grown on similar lands to those which you have in mind and
arrange the rotation on that basis, from what we knew of the relation of
the different plants to soil fertility, etc. You cannot make out a
satisfactory local scheme for the seven counties in southern California,
because of the widely different behavior of the separate plants in the
different parts of the district. You can hardly work on the basis of
soil character: moisture supply and temperatures are more determinative.
Surely you should make a scheme for irrigated land different from that
for dry land, and it could not only be a longer rotation, but many more
plants would be available for its service.
Berseem?
Berseem has been introduced into this country from Egypt, and would like
to know if it has been used in California, and if it has came up to
expectations.
Berseem is an annual clover supposed to grow only during the summer
time. It has been tried widely in California, but practically abandoned
because it will not grow during the rainy season. It is in no way
comparable to alfalfa, which is a deep rooted perennial plant, nor would
it be comparable with burr clover as a winter grower on lands which have
a moderate amount of water.