The Effects of Different Intensities of Grazing upon Three Varieties of Wheat in Western Kansas

Abstract

RAYMOND F. ROEMER, Fort Hays Kansas State College, Hays The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of grazing upon the yield and the development of roots and of other structures of three varieties of hard winter wheat. The wheat plant has been studied by many investigators. Some have made observations on the plant as a whole while others have specialized on its various parts, but to the author's knowledge, little data have been published on the effects of grazing upon root penetration and yield of the wheat plant. Hard winter wheat, the type most commonly grown in western Kansas, is a winter annual which is planted in the fall of the year and matures early the following summer. The three varieties of this type of wheat chosen for observation were turkey, a late maturing wheat, tenmarq, which matures a few days earlier than turkey, and early blackhull, which, as its name implies, is one of the first varieties to complete its growth. Mr. A. F. Swanson of the Fort Hays Experiment Station furnished certified seed and also gave the author many hints and aids in carrying out the experiment. The plot in which the seed was planted was located near the center of a much larger field and on a north facing slope of not more than 3 per cent with no visible signs of erosion. The field had been summer-fallowed the year prior to the seeding. A modern drill of the semi-deep furrow type was used to seed the wheat. The rows were planted thirty inches apart instead of the standard ten inch spacing used by most farmers (Fig 1). This greater width was used to make it more convenient to remove and study the root developments. The seed was planted at the rate of sixty pounds per acre and at an average depth of 1.5 to 2 inches. The rows were approximately 120 feet long and ran approximately on the contour. The rows were arranged somewhat as follows: On the south the first row was planted to turkey; the second row to tenmarq, and the third to early blackhull. This arrangement was duplicated three times, making a total of nine rows in the plot. Before the wheat was pastured the plot was divided into three equal parts. The middle one-third was fenced to keep out livestock. The west one-third was left open to grazing and the east one third was clipped each week to a height of 1 inch in addition to the grazing as given the west one-third.