Image provided by: Friends of the Sandy Public Library; Sandy, OR
About Sandy post. (Sandy, Oregon) 1938-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 1980)
Energy gets high priority Oregonians soon will find useful information about energy more rea dily available and on more topics. The Oregon State University Extension Ser vice this week annoiaiced a major addition to its formal educational programs that are conducted throughout the state. “ We have elevated energy to what we call •program area* status,” said Extension Director Henry Wadsworth. Other programs areas are agriculture, forestry, marine resources. 4-H youth, home economics and community development. 1 /1 / DCtt€T alfalfa T' le *uperlor growth of the alfalfa seedlings in the two center pots is due to their being innoculated with massive amounts of select strains of nitrogen- fixing bacteria. • Breakthroughs announced for alfalfa H is to r ic a lly , a lfa lfa growers have increased yields and improved quality by employing more efficient procedures for irrigating, fertilizing, harvesting and other comparable farming practices These diverse agricultural procedures, interestingly enough, share a common denominator; they all take place after the seed has been planted But a new concept is now em erging in a lfa lfa production ; it relates to what takes place before the seed is planted, rather than after. Two factors are involved: Coating the seeds prior to planting to aid emergence and survival, to reduce seed costs and to provide massive num bers of the proper nitrogen-fixing bacteria and planting varieties that have been bred to exhibit the most desirable traits for specific growing areas Inoculating alfalfa and other legume seeds with bacteria is not exactly a recent discovery What is new is that the recently in troduced Rhizo-Kote process of inoculation provides a far wider range of benefits. Generally speaking the m ajor objective of inoculating legume seeds such as alfalfa is to provide proper bacteria for effective root nodulation which enables the plant to fix free nitrogen from the a ir and to convert it to a form that can be utilized by the plant for growth and nutrition. A major breakthrough of the Rhizo-Kote program is that it selects the most ef ficient strains of rhizobia or bacteria fo r in d ivid u a l alfalfa varieties. Other advantages of this type of inoculation include increased weight for uniform seed distribution, lower seed cost and im proved emergence and survival resulting from surrounding the seed with a controlled germination zone. The Rhizo-Kote system of pre-inoculation also provides a carrier capable of holding a fa r greater number of rhizobia than the con ventional methods of pre- inoculation. Although rhizobia may be present in different soil types, the concentration of the required strain s to p ro d u c e m a x im u m nodulation may be lacking, in contrast, the Rhizo-Kote process provides massive amounts of the desired strain of rhizobia required for peak success. Carl Spiva. agronomist, said that “ seed coating adds a new dimension to the success of emergence and survival of the seedlings ” Spiva’s research indicates that frequently the planting of raw seeded legumes such as alfalfa achieve only 30 percent emergence and survival due largely to a lack of uniform planting depth. “ Coated seed overcomes this problem,” Spiva said, ‘‘by surrounding the seed with materials that absorb and hold moisture around the entire seed surface. Raw seeds, unless pressed into the soil with a ring roller or sim ilar equipment, present a Senior up-date by VIVIENNE BODEAL ELDERS HELP ENERGY FIGHT solar heating systems. If you are among those who can use some aid of some kind, contact your county or state senior or elder affairs and inquire about their local program. Energy program s are especially important to the elderly poor because they must spend four times as FOOD RECOVERY great a percentage of their If you haven’t heard of this small incomes for energy as food recovery program you do other people with incomes should and if there isn’t one above the poverty level. in your area, maybe you can It follows as night does the be instrumental in starting day that the higher the cost one through your RSVP or of energy the less there w ill Senior Center or even as a be to spend for food, clothing community project. and housing, the basic needs Through a “ crop of life However, it is the men recovery” program, fa r and women who are now mers, neighborhood gardens older who can teach others and community gardens give about e ffic ie n t energy surplus produce to be used utilization because in their f o r c o m m u n ity - w id e lifetime they have gone distribution. For example, in through the Great ’ ■ Moses Lake. Wash., last year Depression and World War II one man donated 100,000 ears (not to mention two other of corn which he couldn’t use warsi. In three days, RSVP During the 1930 s fortunes d istrib u te d the corn were wiped out overnight throughout the Eastern and and jobs disappeared hourly. Western parks of the state The rationing of gasoline, We have heard of apple food and clothing during growers in Virginia and W W II taught valuable other places who w ill give lessons that are being again away bushels of fru it if put into practice today. It is someone w ill come and pick the older American who is them rather than let them leading the way in turning rot down thermostats in the Another fo rm of food winter ana up in the sum recovery is to gather up m ertime to conserve energy, dated shelf items in super driving less to save gasoline markets. Usually several and cooking several foods at types of day-old merchandise one time to use less gas and is discarded. Arrangements e le ctricity. can be made through an Retired Senior Volunteer R-SVP program or another Program volunteers are project to pick up these goods helping low-income elderly fo r d istrib u tio n to the residents conduct home community where needed or energy and safety sirveys wanted (Check your local Volunteers determine where laws on this. I heat is leaking around doors So much food is thrown and windows, estim ate away. All it takes is a little repair costs and suggest organization to get bushels of where inexpensive materials food . . all for free! . . . for can be pirchased. Other those who find it difficult to RSVP projects offer buy food for an arienimp» assistance in weatherizing diet, homes and constructing (c i 1960Suburban Features I r relatively smaller amount of surface for contact with the soil.” The Rhizo-Kote coating also neutralizes the pH in the germ ination zone which contributes to optim um nodulation and seedling development. The high concentration of rhizobia in the coating offers added insurance. Although the coating protects the rhizobia from ultra-violet light, provides insulation from heat and toxic materials and keeps the rhizobia alive longer, the m ajor benefits provided the farmer include improved emergence and increased seedling survival. Controlled tests have in dicated that the Rhizo-Kote seed coating improves emergence in alkaline as well as in acid soils by maintaining a controlled germination zone around each seed The neutralized soil area resulting provides the rhizobia with an ideal medium for initiating ef fective nodulation at the seedling stage The last major program area to be added was marine resources, when OSU was named in 1968 to be one of the country’s first sea grant centers. “ Energy' is a program whose time has come,” Wadsworth said “ First, because OSU Extension is Oregon’s arm of a national effort to encourage more efficient use of energy and use of alternate energy sources” OSU Extension last month received $355.000 from the Oregon and U.S. Depart ments of Energy to be the state’s “ Energy Extension Service.” Every state will have an Energy Extension Service, but it may not be part of the state’s regular Extension service, said Wadsworth. The Oregon Department of Energy and OSU worked jointly to develop a state plan. Among 40 states not part of an earlier pilot project, Oregon was the first in the nation to receive ARE YOU SICK AND TIRED of being sick and tired? Want to do something about it? federal approval for its plan. “ Another reason that we’re putting extra emphasis on energy is the needs of our clients. We’re just con cluding an intensive effort to identify what people feel are important needs for prac tical information to help them solve problems. “ Time after time, energy heads the list,” Wadsworth said. E x t e n s io n ’ s e n e rg y education w ill concentrate on a fo u r-p a rt program recommended by a statewide advisory committee tin t helped define it. The four parts are energy management fo r sm all business, energy-efficient building practices fo r builders and contractors, a “ M a s te r C o n s e rv e r” volunteer program to provide sources of reliable information on energy and a consumer response activity to answer questions. So far, the staff of the new program area consists of a program leader in Corvallis and six Extension agents, just recruited The new program leader is Owen Osborne, an electrical engineer. Osborne joined the OSU faculty in 1971 as an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering. For several years, he was part of a team employed on a R ockefeller Foundation g ra n t. That project developed a sim u latio n model of Oregon’s growth Osborne worked with Oregon business and p o litic a l leaders who assisted in • designing and using the simulation model. When the six Extension agents begin work in the next few weeks, they w ill be assigned to six counties: C la c k a m a s , C oos, Deschutes, Jackson, I^me and Washington. “ Of course, those agents w ill be the focus of our newest effort in energy,” Wadsworth said, “ but the rest of our agents around the state and specialists here on campus have been making energy a part of their teaching for some time now. “ You can’t teach agriculture or forestry or home economics — or practically any other subject — without coming to grips with energy,” Wadsworth said. He said there are a num ber of Extension publications on such subjects as insulation, heat pumps, energy in the home, and other topics. Publications are available through the local offices of the OSU Extension Service. ÀÎMW SOMEONE NEW TO THE A R EA ? Call Newcomers Service............. Our Greeters provide important community information and- complimentary coupons for gifts and services from local businesses WE CAN HELP • Physical exams •Nutritional counseling 2Q7-3346 • Laboratory diagnosis • Natural childbirth C A L L TODA Y SEPM C E PORTLAND NATUROPATHIC CLINIC A iM ftu n i dime ol I hr Nation*) tolle«r of N*t jrop*thk MedKine 510 S.W. 3rd/4th Floor/226-3717 Since 1928 Betty Wolf. 668-6881, Ruby El lason. 668-8392 V our community r»pj
