NITROGEN INOCULATION

Shannon News, 12 February 1924, Page 2

NITROGEN INOCULATION

CONDITION OF THE SOIL.

An American paper says:—The only direction in which soil inoculation has been rendered more or less practical, according to Professors Boorheea and Lipman, is the inoculation with culture of various tubercle bacteria. Such inoculation can therefore be applied to. legumes, and legumes only. By doing so we may make possible the formation* of tubercles, and therefore the fixation of nitrogen by leguminous crops in such soils where the proper bacteria are naturally absent. But it should be remembered that in most soils the failure of leguminous crops to grow satisfactorily is due, not to the absence of the proper soil bacteria, but to the general unfavourable soil conditions, to absence of sufficient amount of lime, of a sufficient amount of humus, or of sufficient aeration. The inoculation of such soils without previous improvement would be a waste of effort and money. There is ample justification, therefore, to utter here a warning against misconcep? tion and unjustifiable expectation, J&r norance in this direction will exploited, as ignorance in other directions has been exploited, by attempts to sell to farmers improperly formed cultures of soil bacteria, advertised as the panacea for all soil ills. Let the man who wishes to inoculate his soil remember that it is not yet practical to inoculate it for wheat or potatoes or melons, and, while it is practical to inoculate it for alfalfa or soy beans or other legumes, he should inform himself as to the real facts before proceeding with his inoculation.