Free nitrogen
Free nitrogen for agriculture?
What a great idea. Think of how
much money farmers could save if
that were only true.
Nitrogen is already free to some
crops and researchers are looking
tor ways to make it free to a lot
more.
With one eye on the world food
supply and being ever aware of
increasing fertilizer prices,
agricultural scientists at the
University of Florida have been
looking at a group of nitrogen
fixing bacteria that permit certain
crops to obtain nitrogen directly
from the atmosphere.
The leader of the research effort
says the use of nitrogen-fixing
bacteria could save millions of
farm
Talk
f -
Jerry Webb
Delaware Extension
dollars in fertilizer costs and go a
long way to boosting the world food
supply, particularly in the
developing countries. You see,
right now most crops get their
nitrogen from man-made chemical
fertilizers and current technology
calls for the use of large amounts
of natural gas to produce nitrogen
for commercial fertilizers. But the
nitrogen-fixing bacteria would
take advantage of the virtually
inexhaustible amount of nitrogen
that is in the atmosphere. It’s
already there. A free supply of non
polluting nitrogen that won’t run
off, that won’t cause pollution, and
won’t use up valuable energy in its
production.
From air
This free nitrogen is
everywhere. In tael, 78 percent ut
the atmosphere is nitrogen, and
somebody figured out that there is
37,000 tons of nitrogen above each
acre of ground. The trick is to find
a way to get plants to use it and
that's what the researchers are
looking at. They hope to get
pasture grasses and cereal and
gram crops to use this free
nitrogen the same way soybeans
and peas and other legumes are
nitrogen from the atmosphere
Pasture grasses being tested
could be used for livestock or
rotated with corn and cereal grain
crops, with the nitrogen-fixing
bacteria providing almost half the
crop's nitrogen requirements.
According to the researchers,
bactena-treated grass has yielded
up to 50 percent more than non
trealed grasses.
In one test they used 80 pounds of
nitrogen fertilizer per acre in
addition to the nitrogen-fixing
bacteria, achieving a plant yield
that would normally require 120
pounds of nitrogen fertilizer per
acre. So they saved about 40
pounds of nitrogen fertilizer per
acre. Project that over the
thousands of acres that are ter
tilized annually and you come up
with one tremendous saving to
agriculture. The potential lor
worldwide saving is also there as
more and more countries move
ahead with their agricultural
revolution.
Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, September 3,1983—023
Grass rotation
If the researchers can gel the
pasture grasses to pick up the tree
nitrogen, then perhaps they could
be rotated with other crops, corn
for instance, in a way that the corn
would use that nitrogen It's long
been a standing practice to use
alfalfa, which picks up nitrogen
from the atmosphere, to furnish
nitrogen to the crop that follows So
not only would this research
benefit the livestock producer, it
CARROLL-BALIMORE. MD DHIA
July 1983
Francis H Barnes New Windsor nad the herd with the
highest average tor the month ot July according to figures iust
released by the Carroll Baltimore Dairy Herd Improvement
Association
During the month ot July 112 dairymen in Carroll Baltimore
Counties participated in this program Listed below are the
top eight herds based on their herd averages over the past
year
Francis H Barnes
Harry W Roach 111
Del Myr Farm
(Roger Myers 4 Sons) 96 19 907 726
Maple Lawn Farm Inc
(C E lager & Son)
Marlin Hotl
Cedar Knoll Dairy Farm
(Jerry Watt)
William J Dickinson
F Lindsay Wilson
WHITE WASHING
with
DAIRY WHITE
• DRIES WHITE
• DOES NOT RUB OFF EASILY
• NO WET FLOORS
• IS COMPATIBLE WITH
DISINFECTANT A FLY SPRAYS
• WASHES OFF WINDOWS &
PIPELINES EASILY
BARN CLEANING SERVICE
AVAILABLE WITH
COMPRESSED AIR
To have your barn cleaned with air it will
clean off dust, cob webs & lots of old lime
This will keep your barn looking cleaner &
whiter longer.
HIGH PRESSURE WASHING
AND DISINFECTING POULTRY
HOUSES & VEAL PENS
We wifi fake work tfrHiin
100 mile radius of Lancaster
MAYNARD L. DEITZEL
Witmer. PA 17585 717-392-7227
Bom Spraying Our Business, not a sideline.
Spraying since 1961.
could also benefit the general crop
producer who is following a
rotation of grasses and grain
crops
This research offers a saving in
dollars to farmers, plus saving a
valuable energy source the
natural gas that's used to produce
a very valuable resource for the
developing nations who have
neither the nitrogen fertilizer
producing tacilities or the natural
gas to produce it w ilh
66 18 009 737
68 18 132 731
149 18 778 705
398 18 751 692
68 16 860 687
76 16 266 656
85 18 130 655
• BARN PAINTING
• ROOF PAINTING
• BIN PAINTING
• MASONRY & EPOXY COATING
• Sandblast preparation
Barn Painting In Lane., York, Adams,
Harford, Baltimore, Carroll & Frederick
Counties
All work is guaranteed satisfactory.
6EBHART & HUMMEL'S
Agriculture - Industrial - Commercial
P.O. Box 7
Hanover, PA 17331
Ph: 717-637-0222