FOR STABILIZAION OF BIG HARVESTS IN THE VOLGA REGION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00039R000100060036-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 4, 2012
• Sequence Number: 36
• Publication Date: November 4, 1949
• Content Type: REPORT

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l~ue~ n mo por '1Sovo ~kayu A~ronomiya" 11o 4, 1949
CONFIDENTIAL
FOR 6TADILIZATION OF BIG KARV IN THE VOLGA REGION
Academician T. D. Lysenko
In 191e8, the USSR had a bountiful grain harvest which nearly attained
the level of output of the 1940 harvest. Yet, a group of rayone in the
Vol a region found 1948 to be a difftcult year, and are inclined to explain
E
their difficulties ae being due to the climate and draught. Their diff i-
cultiee exist primarily, however, not as a result of the climate but because
the people were not able to adapt themselves to climatic conditions exieting
during 1948.
Why was productivity lower in Kuybyshev Oblaet last year? Firet of
all kolltho?,es overlook?d the problem cf soil moisture In some arena plow=
in was not completed; while in other areas which were plowed the necessary
work to insure preservation of moisture was not undertaken. In other cases
another mistake was made; prior to sowing, the plowed soil was deeply
cultivated, since the weather was extremely hot and windy, the soil which
was deeply plowed in the spring dried out in 2-3 days.
As conditions exist in Kuybyshev Oblast, it is especially iiaportant
to determine correctly the reasons for a lower harvest so that future
destructive results can be prevented. In the spring of any year, all
hands in the oblast are needed to harrow the coil as early ac poesible so
as to c;ceate an upper layer of friable soil 1-2 centimeters deep. If the
soil is farrowed, moisture evaporation is reduced.
A determining factor for good harvests in the Volga regions is early
and rapid spring grain cowing. In Kuybyshev Oblast in particular, the
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eowing o? Sumner grain crops must in no case be delayed.
Another important factor is tho proper preparation of the sail prior
to cowing. In a group of rayons in the ateppo part of the oblast, eoil
cannot be dooply cultivated Prior to eowing. This has been attempted and
Found to be a serious mistake which must not be repeated. In this aenee,
198 wne extremely inetructive. Although plowing and moieture preeervution
were carried out eucceoefully in c11 the kolkhozee, the harvest was email.
The reaeon was that the soil ways deeply cultiveted prior to eowing and
dried out to a depth below that in which the eeede were sown. According
to Acadomician V. N. willieams, eeede ehould lie on a firm base and should
be covered by friable soil. The firm base holde moisture for the eeede
Co that they will come up quickly.
Deep cultivation of plowed earth in a rainy spring io beneficial. In
a year ouch ac 19I~6, however, deep cultivation only dries out the soil.
Each member of a kolkhoz or brigade and each kollhoz director should con-
eidor this fact beforehand. They must also consider thoroughly all tech-
nical agricultural measures so that the 1949 harvest will. be better. To
cite ouch technical measure; snow must be accumulated during the winter
and as much snow water stored as is possible so that it may be utilized
for plowed ground the next spring.
Another measure is to provide additional harrows to kolkhozeo so that
moisture preservation work can be carried out. It should always be re-
membered that this work must be carried out in 1-2 days. Otherwise all
the labor spent on working the soil in the fall, spring, and summer may
be wasted. It hag become neceasary to mobilize beasts of burden and to
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use thorn alongaido tractoro in order to carry out the work Tr moisture
preaorvation.
Furthermoro, every kolkhoz muot etrivo to sow grains ae early ae
poosible so that early and vigorouo ohoots may be had. to have early
shoot, vernalizatton oi' aeeda ie recommended. This method ohould be
continued whore it ie alrc y being utilized and introduced whero kolkhoz
workers can be taught the mechanics of this work. Properly conducted ver-
nalization guarantees earlier and more vigoroue ohoote, earlier forming
of ere and ripening; of the grain, and in the final analyeie, a larger
harvest.
In vernalization, grains seeds should not be aoa;ked too soon. It is
batter to begin late than too early in soaking. If the weather ie bad
and planting must atop, soaked aeodo cannot be kept long since their ger-
minative qualities will be lowered,
The inviolable rule set up by practice demands that vernalized needs
should be planted early rather than late even though vernalization is not
complete. If seed vernalization has gone on only three days and the con-
dition of the soil is ready for sowing, then;the seeds must be sowed im-
mediately; seed vernalization will be completed in the soil.
Kuyt hev Oblast kolkhoz workers originated vernalization in the pre-
war years and have used it on a large scale, having already sowed a mil-
lion hecte,rres of vernalized seeds. Other kolkhozes should learn the ver-
nalization procesc from them,
Thuc, in order to attain high and stable harveatc in Kuybyahev Oblast
in 1949, the following things Ynust be done; 1) a supply of moisture for
the aoil must be accumulated during the winter by means of storing snow;
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and m4 friable prior to Bowing; 3) Bowing must Aot ba dalayods I ver-
na~.izet seeds tsust he used for Ewing, and ) the ooaking of seeds foz'
vernalization should not begin too laxly.
In Kuybyshev Oblast thoro is another reaeou for the smaller in
harvest. A group of kolkhozea have plots overgrown with wild oats which
ore very hardy and tend to drive out plants gown from vernalized seeds.
for this reason, areas overgrown with wild oats cannot be sown with sum-
inor wheat ae the wheat will be crowded out. In several areao in the Urals,
for example in the Eastern Urals, it is poeeible to wait oeveral d
aYo
irithe spring until : the wild oats are up and then to cut them off before
planting the wheat, This cannot be done in Kuybyshev Oblast, however,
since it is too late to plant wheat after wild oats are cut. Therefore
the so-called spring wheat sowing in field? plowed in the fall io not car-
ried, out.
The only means of combatting the wild oat menace is to cow oummer
wheat in fields free of wild oats and to plant the overgrown fields with
millet. The soil must be prepared for millet by storing snow watery pre-
serving the moisture in the soil in the early spring, and then waiting
until the wild oats coma up. It is even better to recultivate the stli1
after five days. The wild oats begin to come up after 10-12 days. Ao
soon as the shoots appear, the soil must be tilled with a grubber cultiva-
tor or other implement which will break up the eoil and prevent drying out.
After this operation, ae soon as the shoots of wild oats are deetroYed, it
is necessary to harrownthe soil. When it is time to plant the millet the
area must be cultivated and the millet seeds sown in wide rows. The millet
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will produce a large harvest, one ae large ae cnn be produced on a f iold
Free of wild oate.
Eeoideo millet, other cultivated crop. can be sown on fields over..
grown with wild oate. For this reason, I recommend that in 19e9 such
plote be ueed for cultivated crops since the preparation of these plot.
prior to plrnting and cultivation between the rove ie a considerable aid
in combatting wild oats. For eummer wheat, areas least overgrown with wild
oate must be ueed.
Now are t e wild, oats to be exterminated completely? This can be
accomplished only by e.llowing the chernozem to lie fallow. Only 10-30
percent of wild oat eeede which have not epernt the winter in the Boil
ueue.lly germinate immediately. The rest do not grow during the eumcner
and seem to be dead, but in reality they are alive and are awaiting the
spring to sprout. The seed capsule of wild oats is very tightly clooed,
so that air does not reach the seed until the capsule freezes. For this
reason the seeds remain dormant and do not grow.
In the Volga region, the beet method of fighting wild oats is by
allowing the chernozem to remain fallow. In the fall, fields covered with
wild oats must be plowed deeper so that the soil will freeze deeper. Then
the seed capsule will be broken and the seed will sprout in the spring.
Once they sprout, they must ~e given a chance to grow and. must then be
exterminated by plowing.
In spring cultivation of fallow chernozem for winter sowing in the dry
areae as in fields plowed in the fall, about five daya after the work on
moisture preservation has been done, the fallow soil muat be cultivated
or plowed once again so that air can reach the entire plowed layer. This
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OONTI1 NT ,
caueee the wild oats to sprout.
Unleoe the evil 10 plowed or cultivated deeply in the early spring
?10 that the 0oi1 rmceives its supply a a1r~ wild oats will not come up
either in the epring or aum-r.
It ie known that in many wild suer planta, einong them wild oats, give
almost no shoots during the ewer eince their seeds do not germinate at
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Ve'F* V W M i &&v va1~aLI VI1 EJZ' WUSI 1W3y D0 z ouna JIn 1)frW1n' a txieory OZ'
natural selection; if these plants sprouted in the eummer, they would not
it will be difficult to combat such weeds as wild oats niece only 10-20
percent of them will germinate. It is necessary to have ae many wild
orate possible sprout in the spring es they can then be edterrninated by
cultivating the soil.
Thus, the best means of combatting wild oats is by preserving moisture,
plowing the fallow fields in the early spring so as to cause the wild oats
summer, i. e. reversing the new strata of soil and with them seeds of weeds,
Even under the beet conditions of stratification of fallow soil during the
be able to develop seeds by fall and so could not reproduce themselvee,
~.I'I I&* ~.~~o~ ..,-~+.j~ l?v Wr.J.Ui UCLiD VJ ~UL Pyvwla OX' gruocer
cultivators, Following this process, it is necessary to cultivate the soil
for winter sowing as is done in a dry zone, i. e., without turning or drying
out the soil.
The problem of exterminating wild oats is very important. For this
reason, it is necessary to take measures to prevent wild oats from appear-
ing in areas where they as yet do not exist. Seeds of grains, emong which
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~ add of wild oe~te sre dcatte ec',, must not be down, especially on iielde
Free of weeds. In places where this is done a great dead, et harm is caused,
since wild o~te once they establish theu~eelvee in the eoil, spread quickly
and are hard to exterminate.
In Volga kolkhozee where many fielde axe overgrown with wild oats,
fallow land ehoU i be alloted to eummer wheat. When we epeek of combatting
wild oath, it to expedient to provide fallow land for both winter and sum-
mer wheat. In fields lying fallow for eumraer sowing, wild oete muet be
exterminated in the epring by the method outlined above, followed by culti-
vation of the fallow stratified Boil in the ewer. During the course of
the fall and winter the moteture content will be increaeed. In the early
spring, the fallow field must be plowed snd sowed with summer wheat.
Allowing summer wheat land to remain fallow can to a certain degree
eliminate wild oats, but Bowing winter grains in stubble kill it definitely.
Although rye can be planted in the stubble of aummer wheat, winter wheat
is better for this purpose.
As large scale experiments in Siberia during the paat seven years
have shown, winter wheat can withstand much greater frosts than the frosts
which occur in Kuybyshev Oblast. In Karaganda Oblast, as in the Siberian
eteepes, the winter is severe. But it has been shown that winter wheat
down on stubble by a disk sowing machine does not Buffer at all from frosts.
In these same areas, 'tinter wheat, when sown in fallow soil did not die
because it was unable to withstand the frost, However, friable soil cone
taming moisture freezes in cold weather and in so doing cracks apart and
breaks the life sustaining roots and nodules thus causing the plant to die.
If the soil is not plowed but remains firm, it does not crack and the plants
endure the frosts very well.
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It hoe e,1reu4y been shown that wintex wheat f'or etubble p]. ntin
winters favorably in Siberia. Furtherznore; in eerr>le e'eae ?f giberia~
even eumri,or wheat planted in stubble in the beginning of October for
experimental. purpo'es endures the wintor very well. Sur wheat, in
contrast to winter whi to must be sown later eo that its plante will have
only 1.2 loaves during the winter, Experiments have ehown that after eummer
wheat has been sown fv~3.5 yoar? consecutively, by the nth or nth year thfa
wheat etretn will become hardier, In thin way winter wheat with greltter
froet reeiot+nce will be developed.
It aeeme to mA that frost resistant winter wheat can be planted in
the Vora region, Knowing the yearly good, and even excellent, wintering
of winter whee,t in Siberir., it would be wrong to aeeume that winter wheat
cannot be sown in the steppe regions, in 'the Volga region, and Kuybyshev
Oblast, beceuee the wintero have frosts end little enow. Thie iehown''
by the fact that in the Karngarnda &ovhoz, winter wheat has been sown on 2-3
hectares for the paat seven years snrt h.s not died. Furthermore, the win-
tern these are considerable colder and have ieea (snow than winters in the
Volga region.
The reason for only alight propagation of wintexlwhedtt incthe1.Vo1
ge.
region is that means of cultivating it have not been found. It is now
necesaery to undertake the tack in earnest and to tine the right means ia
well ae the most suitable varletiea of winter wheat so that their propa-
gation in the Volga region can be attented.
Due to the fact that Kuybyshev Oblast is situated in a dry zone, the
plan to fight the draught existing in the t1SZR should be undertaken here
with speria] re.re and energy. The introduction nn8. utiliattn of graas-
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Meld crop rotations and the plenting of field-protecting forest belts
ie a teak of gigantic iportance for all the kolkhozee and eovhozes
in the Vo1ge region.
The firet step in field-graee crop rotation meet be the planting of
graae eeed, especially lucerene, and in some areas eleo clover. A sui'fi-
ciont quantity of lucorene and clover eeede and also grain graeeoe must
be guaranteed. In the Volga region, a greet deal can be done in field-grass
crop rotation.
I can only reconanend the following. Plots, overgrown with wild oats,
plowed in the fall for planting in the spring might be profitably sown
with Bummer lucerne. At the end of May, or the beginning of June, when
wild oats come up after a good spring tilling, they must be exterminated.
Then it is necessary to wait for rain and to sow lucerne mixed with barley
by the usual eowing methods. However, it must be remembered that lucerne
has small seeds which must not be permitted to become embedded.
It seems to me that sowing lucerne alongeide grains planted in wide
rows can be done successfully in the Volga region. In the year following
such sowing, an excellent crop of lucerne will be had. Bowing of perennial
grasees under cover of winter and summer crops should also be undertaken.
Now we turn to the pnting of forests and the establishment of tree
shelter belts.
Kolkhozes have forest belts which were planted during past years. My
advice to ktlkhoz workers, agronomiste, and oblast directors ie to examine
carefully these belts planted five, ten, and fifteen years ago. That which
ie found to bs beneficial should be studied and utilized and that which is
not should be changed. For example, one may be convinced that if grass, sod,
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or quitch grave growe in the belts, then sooner or later the troeo will
wither away end die. In areae where the ground ie not .oddy, the trees
grow will.
Examine the life of the forest. The foreet doe. not permit the entry
of sufficient light for eod or quitch. Quitch is the most dangerou. enemy
of foreet trees eince it chokes out treee, some as largo as five meteri
high, wherever it eppeare. It ie true, however, that in their natural
state, trees are also able to resist quitch.
The wild growth of the eteppee, especially quitch, sedge, and other
varieties of graee plants, are the moet deadly antagonists of foreet beees.
If the branchee of treee meet and grow denee, then quitch, since it cannot
grow without light, will die. Some think that the main reason foreet ~plant-
inge die because of quitch ie that the quitch takee moisture away from tree
roots. The roots of trees go down much deeper into the soil than those of
quitch, however, and for this reason, lack of moisture is not the true
reason. As an example we can take regions where there is a great deal
of moisture and rain falls often, but as soon as quitch begins to appear
around the trees, the trees are choked out. The reason is that quitch
rotts secrete a substance which is poisonous to the roots of trees and
causes them to die.
In tree shelter belts it is not possib&e in any case to allow the
soil to become overgrown with grass. If this is permitted even to a slight
degree, the young brees die in 1-3 years. Therefore, repeated cultivation
of young tree plantings in the tree shelter belts before they grow dense
is necessary.
How can tree shelter belts be planted so that waste of labor and re-
sources are reduced to a minimum?
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In 1949 scientific experiments]. instiutes and the Forestry manage-
ments of the steppe and forest steppe experimental areas pledgod to pro-
duce epecified quotas by the nest method, The All-Union Academy of Agri-
cultural Sciences imeni V. I. Lenin is to direct this work.
what is the purpose of these experiments?
The essence of the proposal made by the academy to use the neat method
to develop treeeehelter belts for protecting fields may be summarized as
follows; 1. It is recommended that oak and maple be planted by the nest
method and tbat yellow acacia mixed with other bruehwood be planted in rows;
2. Saplings during their first year of growth should be protected from all
damage, primarily from wild steppe erase, by insane of sowing various annual
agricultural plants.
Thus, the best conditions for growing forest trees will be provided,
and the waste of labor and resources in caring for the sowing and planting
of forest belts will be decreased many times in comparison with the present
methods used for planting foret trees in steppe regions.
If these experiments are eucceesful -- we will know in 1-2 years --
then these means will be widely utilized in kolkhozes and eovkhozee.
The nest method for developing tree shelter belts is described in
detail in the article "Experimental Sowing of Forest Belts by the Neat
Method" published in the fourth edition of tlnr book Agrobiology,
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