Newspapers / The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, … / Aug. 17, 1912, edition 1 / Page 3
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PROGRESSIVE . TTTLfi REGISTERED IN U. S. LATENT OFFICE. Vol. XXVII. No. 33. SATURDAY, AUGUST 17, 1912. Weekly: $1 Year. TIimLY FARM SUGGESTIONS. v ' ' ' ;". "-7-'- -V Dy TAIT BUTLER. V ' ''-! -7--r.- WILL acid phosphate ' Injure -oats if it comes in -"contact with the seed as put in by a. grain drill with ferUlizer distributor?"; -No Injury -will result: to the seed oats from coming Jin J contact with the acid- phosphate. in this way, . I corn in feeding value. . The oats and soy beans can be made about as cheaply, and, land that -will - produce 50 bushels of corn per acre should produce-much larger yields " of oats and soy beans than those stated. - On the other hand, land 'that . : r ' ':':" v: "''"'i',' I ' ;! 3: will not produce ; more than 20 to 2 5 bushels of T.IS a. mistake to .wait until the crop has made , corn will produce more feed in oats and soy beans, the greater-part of its growth before applying nitrate -of soda. This fertilizer ' is usedt for, the ; nitrogen if contains, and nitrogen is chiefly: useful in'the growth of the stalk land leaves. Many peo: pie are ; still applying; nitrate of soda- to cotton. It may appear to do some good when applied late . in causing the plant to continue green and make larger1 growth,, but" it' is doubtful; if that late "growth does much good and in many cases it probably does harm. When nitrate of soda is to be applied it should be put. on when the plant ia ; - young in order to increase the . size - of the stalk ? . growth.1 A good, stalk Is necessary to a large -' yield? "but 'to encourage the? growth of stalk .when T the time for fruiting has arrived is not good Y f 4 practice. and these crops will not remove as much nitrogen, the most expensive plant sfood, from the soil. When oats are sowed in the fall, on good land well prepared fertilized properly, and put in by the open-furrow method; so as tor prevent Injury by freezing, they are a profitable crop. As to whether the crop is profitable depends most large ly on the yield, and this depends largely on the man and the land. : . Fertilizers for Oafs. I F.I MAKE a heavy application of stable manures this fall to land that will "make from one-hair 1 to two-thirds' of a bale: of cotton or .2 5 .to Z 0 bushels of corn per acre, should I plant; only-, corn, or -may I plant both corn 'and -cotton on such land?" On land that Is inclined to make rather a large stalk of cotton .a heavy application of HAT fertilizers do you advise for oats?" T On soils where commercial - fertilizers pay under other crops, we advise the. use of acid phosphate at time of sowing and a top dressing: 61 nitrate, of soda early, the nextspring on. soils of average fertility. If the soil is rich, or if a. crop of some legume has been grown recently, the, nitrate of soda may not be. required, but the growth of the crop Is: the safest and best guide as to the need of nitrogen. -From 100 to 300, pounds of "acid phosphate should be used when the oats are sowed. It may stable" manure may increase this tendency to . such I an extent as toTmake", the planting of cottonthe -be Put in with the seed drill when sowing the first vear- undesirable. - On ordinary land, evek ai oats, and if it comes in" contact with the seed no always pay to treat them. The treatment 13 neither difficult nor expensive and yet . isV very ... effective. The black powdery masses which ap- pear in the place "of the grain are the spores (or!; seeds) of the smut fungus. These get on the oat seed , and when planted- with the" seed produce; ) smut! in the plants that grow from these infected , seeds. But, as stated, these smut spores are easily killed and smut effectually .prevented by; treating the seed just before sowing. . : Probably the best treatment; is. to moisten the seed with formalin solution, one ounce to -three J gallons of water. The formalin can be bought at from 7 5 cents to $ 1 a pound and one pound: is sufllcient to treat 40 to 50 bushels; - The seed may be moistened , by dipping the sacked oats into . the solution, or by" spreading them out en a floor and sprinkling the solution over them. : While- the sprinkling is being done the seed should be shov eled or stirred so that every seed will be wet. The seed should then be covered with; an old sheet, canvas or blanket wet with the same solution and. allowed to. remain from six to eight hours. ; They should then be spread out in a thin layer about two inches thick and be stirred occasionally until dry. "'; ,?;-,''. V" Care must be taken not to reinfect the seed with ' the smut spores. It is well to re-sack them In sacks that have also been treated with the forma lin solution. V! ..-' ! If the quantity of seed is large, the drying inay be aided by mixing air-slaked lime with the seed - and then removing the lime by" running 'through' a . fanning mill, when such a machine Is available. , . ; Many think this "too much trouble," but since1' the oat yields are reduced from 10 to 20 per cent . by smut, it is evident that it pays, well to take j . the trouble. ' , , ' . , ' heavy application of stable manure: is" notrlikely r to have such an effect, especially if somei acid r ' phosphate or -ground phosphate frock is added to ij the manure. Stablemanure is deficient in phos-- phoric acid,4 as compared with ttie nitrogenlt con N; tains, .hence the wisdom of "balancing" the, fertil-, izer by Hhe addition ref phosphoric acid. This is ;i especially important when heavy applications of stable manure are made to cotton lands. Corn is ' ., a lover of nitrogen, as furnished in stable manure, ' -and the -humus added also enables the -land- to hold' more water which is also acceptable to the I corn plant. For these reasons heavy applications 1 of stable manure are especially suitable for the : corn crop;- - . -y: Loss of Plant Food by Leaching. injury will result. V ; r When the oats are sowed early for grazing, it T HE loss of plant food from the soil by leach may pay to apply some nitrogenous fertilizer at I ing is considerable in all sections of average the time of sowing,-but; as a general. srule more JL ; profitable results will be obtained J by ; applying ,fromJ75 pounds to 150 pounds of nitrate of soda, per' acre .broadcast early in March If the oats make a good growth and, look vigorous and of a dark green color, they probably do not need nitro gen, but ' unless sucht conditions exist, it usually pays . well to ' use nitrate of soda on fall-sowed oats. We do not think spring-sowed oats profit; able, as a general rule; throughout the Cotton ralnfalL but there are many reasons Twhy it Is of unusual importance in the South Y -j ;J 1. The larger the amount of rainfall, the larger the amount of plant foods lost by leaching, other things being equal. ; The rainfall is .unusually heavy in the South, hence leaching -is likely, to be excessive other things being equal. ' ThereMs greatest loss by leaching in the summer because the nitrogen in the soil is being made soluble' more rapidly In the summer. Warmth is favorr Belt, but when spring sowing. Is practiced, the able to bacterial activity which plays an active , . Making Oats ! a Profitable Crop. . READER asks: - '.'Do you,regard oats a profit Z ."able crop?" - The average crop of oats is not profitable1 in the South. The average yield per acre In the South Atlantic States for the past -45 years has been around .15 bushels. Tn the South, Central States, during the same time, the yield has been around :20 Z bushels j?er; acre. - With Kentucky, Texas and ' Oklahoma excluded, the yield, in these South Central States has not been more than two Jmshels per acre better than In the South Atlantic States, x Jhese are not, profitable crops ; ? but for that matter, the average cropsof cotton, about 180 pounds per acre, and of, corn, 15 to-20. bush els -per acre, are not : profitable. This -merely means ; that! -the average Southern farmer does ' not produce profitable', yields of" crops, but it has no bearing 'on the question; as to .whether .. the' . Southern farmer, should grow oats. T . . .. . I believe the oat crop could and should be made profitable -on ; Southern farms;; Generally, oats have been sowed - on the poorest lands ; and not given that intelligent consideration necessary , to same fertilization is probably desirable; with the exception that the nitrate of soda may need to be applied a little later. , ; . - ; ;: !"..'' In a proper rotation, with legumes occupying a prominent place, no commercial nitrogen will be needed., on the oat crop. " Oat Smut and What Causes It. a: T A' MEETING of farmers which I recently attended, I heard one of the most successful oat growers of Alabama express the opinion that oat smut is due to the. planting of immature oat seed. Several farmers present supported this er amount of chemical action by which plant -erroneous mea. i ao not Know now bucu an iaea. part in rendering nitrogen soluble. Our summers are long, warm and rain is abundant. Moreover our winters are warmer and wetter than in most sections thereby setting free 'more nitrogen and leaching more of it from the soil. , . ! z". 2. The character of the soil and Its ability . to absorb and hold water largely' control the leach ing of plant foods from the soil. A clay soil will hold water better and consequently suffers less from leaching, but a larger proportion of our soils are light or sandy and since our rainfall is heavy we suffer extensively from the leaching of plant foods from the soil because of their Inabili ty to hold moisture. : Clay soils also exert a great originated,' but it is plainly a mistake. It may be that imjnature seed," or seed from oats cut too green, favor the. prevalence of smut; but tharthis is the real cause, is not true. Without the smut fungus, there will be no smut, no matter what the foods are combined and ; leaching is prevented. Our large areas of sandy soil, therefore, suffer ' more severely . from leaching. ' 3.. But another and greater reason why our soils fail to hold moisture well and therefore suffer more from leaching, is the general lack Of other conditions of the seed. With no spores (or - humus or organic matter. The water-holding seeds) of smut, there will be no smut; just as cer talnly as with no seeds of oats there will be no oats.; The smut fungus is a plant, just as the oat Is a plant; but this fungus is what is known as & "parasite." That is, it is a plaht living in, or on another plant. The cow has other animals living upon her, the ticks and lice. The oat has other , maae any crop-prontaDie. . Moreover, spring-sow" v Diants living on it, smut and rust. ea oats or inose . sowea laie in me iaii ao - not yield as well as those sowed inOctober. The greatest difilculty wltbr the fall-sowed oats Is winter-killing, but, except in the Southeast, .little has rbeen done tp overcome that" difficulty;- The advantages' of . the oat crop are. that it fur- nlshes a good cofer for the land during our open winters ;i furnishes some i green feed J during ! the ' late fall, winter and early spring; makes an excel- lent feed for all farm livestock and is off the land (In time. to permit of making a crop of peanuts, - It is always a pity when' errors like this,- that smut is due to immature seed, allowed to go uncontradicted; done, for. the , reason that many will believe the false theory, because it is given out by a so-called "practical" man. As a(matter of! fact, it. is pure ''theory1'; and has no real . basis for its existence. Verily .verily! the greatest "theorists" are usually those who claim that they are ' "Just- practical men. Oat smut does more harm than is generally sus- cowpeas, soy beana or lespedoza the same season. pected. ' The loss in the oat yield is ; frequently It is nrobable that 30 bushels of oats and' 2 5 . tremendous and yet It is easily prevented. Unless .bushels of soy beans are equal to 60 bushels of the seed are known, to be, free from smut, it will power : of soils Is tremendously increased by '-an abundance of decaying organic matter, and, in a measure," to the extent the water-holding power is Increased, the 'leaching is decreased. But South ern soils, because of - climatic conditions heat and moisture and our cropping, systems, are de ficient in humus and consequently are more sub ject, to leaching. ; 4. The condition . or cdmbinations in which"' are put forth, or plant, foods exist in -the. soil 'also largely Influence Harm is always their leaching from the soil. If soils with a larizfe amount of nitrogen in soluble forms did not hold water, better than other soils they would of course, -lose more by leaching,, but such soils are usually well supplied with humus and in condition to take up and hold a large amount of water before leaeh' ing begins- . , ; : . ; v ' Losses of plant foojds , by., leaching", must be carefully distinguished from the loss of soil and .consequently fertility by washing, but both are important sources of ? large losses: of plant. Joofa. from.-' Southern soils! r rC r -! ' J - i: Xs
The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Aug. 17, 1912, edition 1
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