MOST KOLKHOZES SUCCESSFULLY INITIATE THE STALIN PLAN FOR THE TRANSFORMATION OF NATURE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000600330405-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 26, 2011
• Sequence Number: 405
• Publication Date: August 1, 1950
• Content Type: REPORT

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CLASSIFICATION CoNFIDENTIALCQNFIDEN 1 IAL
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY REPORT
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS CD NO.
SUBJECT Economic - Afforestation
HOW
PUBLISHED Monthly periodical
WHERE
PUBLISHED Moscow
DATE
PUBLISHED Oct 1949
LANGUAGE Russian
THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS INFORMATION AFFICTIAS THE NATIONAL DEFENSE
or TAO UNITED STATES WITHIN TAO ^RAMI0S OF ESPIONANS ACT YO
Y. S. C.. Al AND St. AS AMUSED. ITS TRANSMISSION OD THE 01S1AT10N 1190 PERSON HI SITSDO ST TL W I OOF ODUCTIO0 Or THIS FORM IN PROM 11TSD. IN FRO?
SOURCE Sovetskaya-Agronomiya, No 10, 1949.
DATE DIST./ Aug 1950
NO. OF PAGES 6
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
MOST KOLKHOZES SUCCESSFULLY INITIATE THE STALIN
PLAA R THE TRANSFORMATION OF NATURE
A year ago, the Council of Ministers USSR and TsK VKP(b) adopted a
resolution to plant field shelter belts, to introduce grass-crop rotation,
and to construct ponds and water reservoirs to assure large and uniform
harvests in the steppe and forest steppe zones of the European USSR.
All agricultural workers enthusiastically received this resolution,
which points the way to abundant and uniform harvests, and assumed the'
obligation to cut in half the time required to put these measures into
effect.
The plan called for the kolkhozes to plant 52,900 hectares of trees
during the spring of 1949, and a total of 80,500 hectares during the course
of the year. To carry out this plan, the necessary land was prepared during
the preceding fall, organizational.measures for the spring planting season
were carried out, and particular attention was paid to seed collection.
The kolkhozes in the steppe and forest steppe zones of the European
USSR actually planted 102,800 hectares of field shelter belts during the
spring, thereby meeting the spring planting plan 194.8 percent and the year
plan 127.6 percent.
The kolkhozes of nine oblasts more than doubled the figures of the spring
planting plan; those of Rostov Oblast more than tripled the planned figures;
and those of Stavropol' Kray planted more than 10 times the planned quota.
The kolkhozes of 17 oblasts, kraya, and republics exceeded the 1949 spring
planting plan set for them. The fact that most of the kolkhozes carried out
their planting during the best planting period assured the shelter belts a
good growing start.
STATE
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The kolkhozes of the North Caucasus and the Crimea had already ex-
ceeded the spring planting plan by 10 April,. but since weather conditions
were favorable, they continued planting until the end of the month. The
Ukrainian kolkhozes had exceeded the plan by 20 April but also continued
their planting. Kolkhozes of the Volga region and central chernozem zones
had exceeded the plan by 1 May. The kolkhozes of many oblasts finished
their planting work in from 6 to 8 days.
At first, there was apprehension that planting stock and shrub seed
would be inadequate in some regions. However, enough stock and seed were
provided not only to fulfill but to exceed the plan. Instead of 529 million
seedlings and wildings per plan, the kolkhozes actually planted almost a
billion. The kolkhozes received 89.9 million seedlings from the state tree
nurseries of the Ministry of Agriculture, 152 million seedlings, and more
than 700 tons of acorns from the nurseries and forest managements of the Min-
istry of Forestry. In addition, the kolkhozes used almost 77 million seed-
lings from their in nurseries and procured a large quantity of wildings and
cuttings for planting.
It is noteworthy that, in general, the species planted corresponded
closely with those recommended for planting. Although a complete analysis
of the spring planting program has not yet been made, data received on
45,000 hectares show that the composition of 440 million seedlings, wildings,
and cuttings (including 582.4 tons of acorns) planted was as follows: long-
lived species, 270 million or 61.4 percent; rapidly growing species, 90
million or 20.5 percent; shrubs, 80 million or 18.1 percent. Long-lived
species (including acorns) included 33 percent oak, 32 percent birch, and 19.3
percent ordinary ash. Other species planted in the shelter belts were elm,
maple, apricot, mulberry, and apple.
The kolkhozes paid close attention to servicing the planted areas. By
30 June, 127,100 hectares had been cultivated and weeded once, 76,300 hectares
had been cultivated twice, and 19,700 hectares three times. As a result of
timely planting and good cultivation, the kolkhozes obtained a high rate of
survival for the planted stock. Survival data on 64,800 hectares in 13
oblasts revealed the following results:
Survival of 80 co 100 percent on 23,032 hectares or 35.6 percent of the
total area; survival of 70 to 80 percent on 25,476 hectares or 39.3 percent
of the total area; survival of 50 to 70 percent on 14,189 hectares or 21.9
percent of the total area; survival of less that 50 percent on 2,075 hectares
or 3.2 percent of the total area.
These figures show that the average survival rate was 75.3 percent for
the indicated area. This high rate was obtained despite unfavorable weather
conditions in a number of areas.
In addition to the new planting described, the kolkhozes carried out
supplementary planting on 10,300 hectares planted in previous years, and
replacement planting on 8,900 hectares planted 3 or more years ago, for a
total of 19,200 hectares.
The kolkhozes have plowed 162,300 hectares of fallow land for planting
in 1950.
A total of 7,d37 tree nurseries has been established on the kolkhozes to
provide stock for future planting. In addition, 32 new state nurseries of the
Agrolespitomnik (Agricultural Tree Nursery) Turst, covering about 6,000
hectares of land, had been established by last spring. Shrub seeds have
been planted on more than 7,000 hectares by kolkhoz and state nurseries.
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In conformity with the 20 October 1948 decree of the Council of Ministers
USSR and TsK VKP(b), the first planting of shelter belts according to the
Lysenko nest method was undertaken this year on the fields of scientific re-
search and experimental institutes. The institutes of the Ministry of
Agriculture devoted 831 hectares to this purpose. Planting by the nest method
was done in many oblasts, krays, and republics under various natural condi-
tions, Results have shown that the nest method is the very best method for
tree planting in the steppe and forest steppe zones, involving a minimum of
maintenance work and material.
When acorns were planted according to the nest method during the past
spring, with winter wheat, oats, barley, sunflowers, flax, perennial grasses,
and other agricultural crops serving as nurse crops, the seeds sprouted well
and the plants developed good root systems.
These experiments have laid the foundation for general adoption of the
nest method of planting long-lived and rapidly growing tree seeds and of
sowing shrub seeds in rows. And whenever new shelter belt planting is under-
taken on soils where oak will grow, it is expedient that this hardy species
of tree be used.
Use of the next method of shelter belt planting considerably reduces
expenditures of labor and materials as compared with conventional tree
planting methods. Besides, it permits three to four-year use of the land
between the tree belts for agricultural purposes.
This new method for planting trees in the steppe and forest steppe
zones of the USSR, developed on the basis of Michurin agrobiological
science, offers the possibility of considerably raising the planting plan
and fulfilling the Stalin shelter belt plan in a much shorter period of
time,
The area to be planted by the kolkhozes in 1950 is 350,000 hectares.
At such a planting rate, the kolkhoz fields will be protected by shelter
belts within a very few years.
Successful application of the nest method on a vast scale demands that
special attention be paid to tree and shrub seed, and particularly acorn,
procurement. During the course of this year, the agricultural organs must
procure not less t~an 25,000 tons of acorns. It is quite obvious that seed
procurement requirements will increase still more in years to come.
About 43,000 kolkhozes in the steppe and forest steppe zones of
European USSR were active in tree planting work last spring. About 60,000
kolkhoz squads were organized to carry out the work. In addition, about
6,000 special squads were organized for work at the kolkhoz nurseries.
Much experience in correct organization for tree planting work was
accumulated. For example, the kolkhozes of Ryl'skiy Rayon in Kursk Oblast
carried out their planting work very successfully, meeting the annual.plan
233 percent and obtaining an 85 percent survival rate. The kolkhozes of
Skorodnyanskiy Rayon met the annual plan 157 percent and obtained a survival
rate of 95 percent.
Vtoraya Pyatiletka Kolkhoz, Petrovskiy Rayon, Stavropol' Kray, planted
12 hectares of belts as compared with 6 hectares per plan and obtained a
90 percent survival rate. Two tree-planting squads were organized at this
kolkhoz. They also performed the cultivation work after planting.
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The kolkhozes of Troitskiy Rayon, Chkalov Oblast, met the planting plan
370 percent, planting 127 hectares of belts including 15.5 hectares according
to the Lysenko method.
The forest conservation stations provided the kolkhozes with much aid.
By the beginning of spring work, the Ministry of Agriculture had established
64 stations, of which 60 took part in shelter belt planting work.
All forest conservation stations were fully equipped with tractors,
plows, cultivators, tree-planting machines, ditchers, graders, etc. The
stations performed deep plowing work\between belts on a total area of 9,400
hectares, meeting the plan 172 percent, pre-planting cultivation work on
11,900 hectares, meeting the plan 115 percent; and fallow plowing work on
70,000 hectares, meeting the plan 106 percent.
On some kolkhozes, pcor agrotechnical practices led to a reduced rate
of survival of the planted stock. Serious planting deficiencies occurred in
Astrakhan, Orel, and Crimea oblasts, where shallow planting of seedlings and
planting on poorly prepared soil were tolerated. The work of restoring the
plantings of previous years was unsatisfactorily organized on kolkhozes in
Saratov and Chkalov oblasts and in Mordvin ASSR. On a number of kolkhozes,
poor cultivation of the plantings also contributed to a lower rate of
survival of the planted stock.
There were deficiencies also in the work of the forest conservation
stations. The stations did not fulfill the spring mechanized planting plan,
and some stations paid too little attention to cultivating the planted areas.
Mechanized cultivation between rows was poorly performed by Orel, Penza, and
U1'yanovsk oblast stations. Instances occurred of insufficiently deep
plowing, poor soil cultivation, and too light tamping of the soil around
seedlings.
One of the most serious deficiencies was the fact that conservation
stations served too large a number of kolkhozes, located in several areas
and at considerable distances from each other. This fact made it difficult
for the tractor brigades to do thorough work, made for much unproductive
traveling time, and caused delays in providing timely service.
The forest conservation stations must improve machine-tractor park
service, must reduce the travel time and unproductive time of tractors, and
must obtain fulfillment of established work norms by each tractor driver.
To accomplish these tasks, it will be necessary for the stations to concen-
trate their efforts on e, smaller number of kolkhozes. Beginning in the
spring of 1950, in addition to tree planting work, forest conservation
stations will have to carry on pond and reservoir construction work and
ravine afforestation work, as well as agricultural work which is being per=
formed by machine-tractor stations at present.
During the fall of this year, maximum attention must be paid to sup-
plementing this year's plantings and restoring previous years' plantings.
All-around preparations for the 1950 spring shelter belt planting season
also should be made in autumn.
Introduction of the grass-crop rotation system has great significance
in the drive for large harvests and a high level of livestock production,
as has been pointed out by agricultural science and proved by thousands of
leading kolkhozes and sovkhozes. Grass-crop rotation is an important part
of the grass-crop system of agriculture now being established on a vast
scale on the kolkhozes and sovkhozes.
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U FthEEMAL
Grass-crop rotation is being introduced on the kolkhozes in the-steppe
and forest steppe zones of the European USSR with two fields of perennial
legumes and grasses. In the most arid areas, three grass fields are es-
tablished. Crop rotation is to be inaugurated on 10,866 kolkhozes in 1949.
This work is being carried out successfully and there is no doubt that the
task will be accomplished.
With the intention of expediting this work in Bashkir ASSR and Voronezh
and. Kursk oblasts, the Ministry of Agriculture USSR has sent land management
specialists from other oblasts to these regions. Students of higher land
management schools and technical schools have been attracted to the work of
introducing crop rotation. Internal land management is being undertaken
this year on a number of kolkhozes in Stavropol' Kray, Ryazan, Chkalov, and
other oblasts, where the work of dividing the fields had been carried out
in previous years by kolkhoz surveyors under the supervision of agronomists
and land management specialists. -The reluctant'precise surveying clearly
defines the boundaries of fields for crop rotation purposes. Forage crop':
rotation also is being introduced.
It should be noted that mistakes which were made on some kolkhozes
when crop rotation was introduced in past years, are now being corrected.
In Ryazan Oblast, for example, about 2,000 of 3,746 kolkhozes on which crop.
rotation was introduced do not have forage crop rotation. In Penza Oblast,
440 of 1,745 kolkhozes do not have forage crop rotation. On some kolkhozes,
the area devoted to forage crop rotation proves to be too small and does not
provide the livestock with adequate forage. On these kolkhozes, the area
must be increased.
Some successes already have been scored in the development of grass
sowing, but such remains to be done. The kolkhozes of Kursk Oblast sowed
5 times more prennial grass this year than last, those of Zhitomir Oblast
4 times more, those of Chernigov Oblast 11 times more, and those of Sumy
Oblast 17 times more. In some oblasts, however, the perennial grass sowing
plan for this year has not been fulfilled. Voronezh, Penza, Saratov,
Ulyanovsk, and Ryazan oblasts have an especially poor record in this respect.
In Stavropol' Kray, less perennial grass was sown this year than last. Such
occurrences are extremely serious, since they inevitably reflect on progress
in the adoption of crop rotation.
Cultivation of perennial grasses intended for seed production is much
better this year than last. Many kolkhozes are carrying out such agrotech-
nical measures as fertilizing, cultivating between rows, weeding, and ar-
tificially pollinating alfalfa in an effort to get a larger harvest. The
kolkhozes are also selecting stands of perennial grasses intended for seed
production with much greater care. But in order to obtain more seed, the
agricultural workers must also carry out threshing at the right time
without delay. "
To set up an accounting system on the working of grass-crop rotation,
all kolkhozes have been issued sowing record books. Entries must be made
in these books as to the crops sown on the fields and the agrotechnical
measures applied to each crop in each field. These record boos, reflecting
a history of each field, will ease the work of the kolkhozes in setting up
annual sowing plans and plans for agiotechnical measures to be applied to
each field.
An important feature of the grass-crop system is the proper application
of organic and mineral fertilizers, since they greatly increase harvests of
agricultural crops. From 1 January to 1 July 1949, the kolkhozes hauled
about 94 million cartloads of manure onto the fields as compared with 67
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million during the same period last year. The Kursk Oblast kolkhozes met the
spring manure hauling plan 148 percent, the year plan 106 percent. The Orel
and Ryazan oblast kolkhozes hauled ll times more than planned during the
spring and met the year plan by more than 90 percent. At the same time,
application of mineral fertilizers improved considerably. The plan for fer-
tilization of growing winter crops was fulfilled 132 percent.
The kolkhozes also have achieved noteworthy successes :in proper plowing,
cultivation, and black fallowing procedures. As of 5 July 1949, 1,843 more
hectares of fallow land had been plowed than on the same date in 1948. Cul-
tivation also was more successful, 3,518 more hectares of fallow land were
cultivated this year than the previous year. At the same time, there were
deficiencies in fallowing procedures in Saratov, Ulyanovsk, Grozny, and
Kursk oblasts, and in Mari and Tartar ASSR's.
The sowing of select seed, adapted to local conditions, is most im-
portant in the grass-crop system of agriculture. In the winter grain
sowing area in the steppe and forest steppe zones of the European USSR,
more than 90 percent of the seed sown was select seed. The kolkhozes of
Stavropol' Kray and Chkalov Oblast sowed only select seeds, those of
Kursk and Ulyanovsk oblasts and Tartar ASSR sowed 99.9 percent select
seeds. Complete data on the spring sowing of select seed is not yet
available for 1949, but a great increase in the area thus sown can be re-
ported.
At the present time, surveying and planning of ponds and water
reservoirs is expanding, but actual construction is proceeding slowly.
A large number of specialists are engaged in the surveying and planning
work.
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