FARMING NOTES.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 4, Issue 25, 30 March 1915, Page 4

FARMING NOTES.

Inoculation of Soil. A few years ago there was a boom in soil cultures and soil inoculation. Scientfiic professors, posaesstd of more enthusiasm than knowledge of practical agriculture started a crusade in which a new era was promised to agriculture. ! jjy the use of soil cultures crops were to be grown 011 land hitherto considered Halt barren, ar.d the application of expensive fertiliser was to be rer.aered unnecessary. Ex ; . eiience has thown that these I expectations were quite an illusion, 1 and 11 corecquence the theory of j soil cultures It 11 into disrepute, to a; extent which perhaps is not j justiiied. At hast that is the idea ! gathered from a perusal of a "Ke- : view oi Work 011 Soil Inocula ion" jby M.ssrs J. Golding and H B. ! Hutchinson, who may no accept*d

|ss autr.oriti.s on the subject. It is i j.i'inicd cut that since the ir.trcduc- ! ticti of pure cultures oi r.odula j bacteria for soil inoucbtion by ! Nobbe ana lliltrer in 1895, a vast 1 number of field experiments- have I been carried out in cliflerent ! countries and with great variety of ' inoculating n.a erial. The results of such experimental i work were in the liist instance disI couraging, ai d it is only within the

ila :t few years that the co'ditions ] ! determining success or failure have | been adequately recognised. During 1 the time the relations existing be- ! twecn tin host plant and the nodule ' organism and between the organism I an d t>;e artificial media used for S cultivation in the laboratory have | been studied in detail, and in the I light of these investigations it is i uot surprising that fsilure atter.ded | much of the preliminary and often j haphazard field work. Experience | ha? shown that it is r.ot sufficient i to have a pure and active culture to | attain success in soil inoculation, | but that the soil its. If shall be | suitable for the growth acd con- | tinued exiiterce of the introduced organism, and that the supply oi I mineral nutrients shall, not be the | limiting rector in the growth of tha j plant. Liming has b.en required in ! mnnv cases, rncl with a prop r j lecognitijn of the row ktovtn | essential conditions, the number of | successful cases of inoculation trials 1 I has steadily increased dutine recert Comparative woik with pure cul.ures, it is stated and inoculation by means of soil which has pre- . viously carried a leguminous crops, have hown in the majority of caees i the superiority of the latter, ar.d cutliva! iou m tbe laboratory ha? ' iaittrly ituluded the use of soil media, or toil ittelf, sin.e the 1 organism appears to retain its power cf infection to a greater 1 extent in this than in other midia. Ihe use of pure culture possesses ! advantages on the score of eheap- ! i.ess and convenience, which are i sometimes of distirct value, acd | recent work especially has shown I the danger attending the transferI ence of plant diseases in toil- used for legume inoculation. Ire relations attending infection of the plant and subsequent mutual existence are very complex, and future experimental work in preparing cuhurs mu t aim at reproducing tiic:e conditions in order to permit ur the production of cultures in active growth and possessme great virulence. Such work, however, involves accurate scientific control if it is to be of peimanent benefit to science aid agriculture, ana in lts.lf would tend to ciieck the production of commercial cultures of j doubtful origin and hypothetical I vaiue.