Effective planting radius per ton of grain seed?

[jcustis]

Folks,

Once again I come to the council with an obscure question that has me and my team stumped. We recently did a leader engagement and the question of the village's needs came up. Barley seed for planting came up, and the discussion wandered in and out of sideline topics like the price of seed per ton. I stopped and asked myself what an Iraqi farmer (or farmers) could do with a ton of seed, so I am trying to find a reference or additional resource for the answer.

-JC

[Tom Odom]

here ya go

R. A. Singh1 and H. B. Singh1

(1) Department of Agronomy, Banaras Hindu University, 221005 Varanasi, India

Received: 27 May 1980 Revised: 15 August 1980

Summary Grain and straw yields of barley improved significantly due to N–S, row orientation, 30 cm row spacing and 90 kg/ha seed rate. A plant rectangularity of 13.6 was found most conducive for grain and straw yeilds of barley. None of the malt quality characters were affected wignificantly due to row orientation. A row spacing of 30 cm and a seed rate of 90 kg/ha improved the malt quality characters of barley. Increase in protein percentage at 30 cm row spacing deteriorated the malt quality.
Key words Plant density - Rainfed barley - Row orientation

[Steve Blair]

If you get a good web connection, try out some of the various university extension sites. They're going to be great sources for this kind of information.

[reed11b]

Do not make the classic American mistake of using formulas designed for the American Midwest in Iraqi soil conditions. Iraq soil is nowhere near as fertile as Midwest soil. I would recommend tracking down former Iraqi agriculture professors, or professors from a region with similar soil and weather.
Reed

[Tom Odom]

Do not make the classic American mistake of using formulas designed for the American Midwest in Iraqi soil conditions. Iraq soil is nowhere near as fertile as Midwest soil. I would recommend tracking down former Iraqi agriculture professors, or professors from a region with similar soil and weather.
Reed

While at face value your caution is valid, understand that the very first step in any calculus regarding productivity is a soil test and application of climatic factors to any resultant modeling is necessary.

Jon, check with through the PRTs for agriculturalists. They should be tied to the USAID mission and the Embassy.

Tom

[reed11b]

Found a possible resource? University of Arid Agriculture in Pakistan. E-mail is
uaar@yahoo.com. Hope it helps.
Reed

[jcustis]

The PRT was my first choice, but it seems that working comms with them is posing more challenges than expected due to their priorities. I have my guys pressing on that very issue nonetheless, and yes, I am wary of the soil comparisons b/n ours and here. I should know, as I have to wipe a thin layer of it from this keyboard every time I stop tp log on.

[dcs0311]

Hi,
I just registered here TODAY and I work at Michigan State University's Entomology Department (I torture bugs, har!). We have a strong International Ag program here at this self proclaimed "World Grant" university, cough cough. If you're still stumped by this problem, holler at me here:
sebolt AT msu DOT edu
Put IRAQ AG in the subject line, spin me up on your progress and I'll see how I can help you. I agree with the others, it starts with a soil test to look at nutrient load. After that, proper crop seed variety. Local or regional varieties are best.

Semper Fi,
Chris

[Jedburgh]

...found this while looking for something completely different. Figured I'd toss it in here for historical interest appropriate to the thread, if nothing else........

Agricultural Handbook for District Level Advisors and S-5 Personnel, May 1970

This booklet is designed to be an agriculture guide for advisors and civil affairs personnel working at district level and below. It should also be helpful to military civic action units who are interested in agricultural projects. It is suggested that you use this guide in the initial stages of your planning to assess the various types of agricultural projects. During your planning stage you should also talk to your Province Agriculture Advisor in order to determine the extent of GVN resources available and how you could best employ them. Of course, the most important step in your planning is investigating the current agriculture situation and desires of the Vietnamese people you plan to help. There is only one way that this can be done and this is to talk to them. Plan to spend a considerable period of time during this visit and ask questions about all phases of a village or hamlet's agriculture. Examples of questions that might be asked are.......