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<br />" <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />In the Texline and Coldwater Creek areas grain sorghum, alfal"" <br />and wheat are the crops of mn.jor dependence, with most of the alfnlfo. '..cre- <br />nge being concentrated on the deep, fine sandy loam soils of the Tex1in~ <br />area. <br /> <br />Average yields in this subdivision are some,lhat 10,lOr than those <br />of other irrignted sections of the Tems High Plains. Only about ono-folU'th <br />of thc presently irrigntcd Innd is well suited for irrigation. A large part <br />of the land now being irrigated has boen soriously dnmagod by ,dnd erosion. <br />r~roovor, YOlmg crops arc subject to dru,ugo by wind nction which is preva- <br />lent during the time thnt crops arc most susc8ptible to drorulge. <br /> <br />Grain sorghum, tile crop of mjor dependonce since it usunlly <br />occupies about 70 peroent of the irrignted lands, averages about 40 bushels <br />per ncre, Grain sorghum yields of 80 to 90 bushels havo boon roportod, but. <br />yields of this sizo al'O the excoption rather than the rule. Alfctlfa yields <br />nvorage about 3.5 tons per acre in alfalfa. This yield compares favorably <br />with those received in tho irrigated Dection of the Southern HiGh Plains. <br />Yiold data regarding corn and 'lhoat, both of which are crops of minor <br />dependence, are meaCer. Thoy r.uggost an nverage yield of about 45 bushols <br />per acre for corn and around 15 for wheat. <br /> <br />A detailed investigation of pump-irrigated fanning practices has <br />not boen oonducted in this nrea, Ho,lOver, farm oper:J.tions in this area <br />are highly mechanized, with two, three, c.nd somotimes four-row equipment in <br />common use. <br /> <br />Al though net wo. ter roquirements in this area c.re similnl' to those <br />of other irrigated areas in the Texas High Plains, the open pereus n~ture <br />of most of the soils to 'Ihich wcter is applied results in a hic:her gross <br />Hater application. This suegests a higher production cost in tho.t 111 ore <br />1oI0.ter must be pDroped, but these inerenscd costs are probnbly off-set, at <br />least in po.rt, by the fact that weed control is not a po.rticular problem in <br />this area. One particularly troublesome feature of this o.ren that [ldds to <br />the production cests is the annual leveling of hUl1IDlocks and the removal of <br />sand from ditchos o.s a result of high wind movement during the sprinG montk' <br />D=ges from hi:;h wind movement are severe enough at times to necessitate a <br />replanting of ll. crop. <br /> <br />B. Arkansas Rivor Basin E:;:c}.usive of the 'pallam COlmty Area <br /> <br />This aroa includes the "breal:s" of the Canadian River and the High <br />Plains lying mestly north of tho Canadlo.n River in TeY~'ls (seo area B, Figure <br />1). <br /> <br />Exclusive of the Canadian iliver "breaks", Hhere only a sm"ll amou!! <br />of cu.ltivation is nttempted, the area has a smooth to genUy undulating <br />topography broken only by the few drainage ways. Elevfltions range from a <br />little under ~.,500 foot in the northwost to about 2,400 feet along the east <br />side of tho Panhandle, The average annl~l precipitation ranges from 18 <br />inches in the wost to about 24 inches in the C" ~t. Gro'ling seasons approxi- <br />mate 180 days throughout most of the area. <br /> <br />26 <br />