Agriculture
First day of Spring is close
March 20 is the first day of spring,
and Arbor Day to boot.
Fertilize pansies.
Add organic matter to gardn areas
now before main planting begins. Ev
ery year you should add at least two
inches of compo6t, peat mo6s, wheat
straw, small pine nuggets, and saw
dust.
Rejuvenate phlox beds every three
years by dividing the plants. Fill the
bottom of holes spaced two feet apart
with peat moss to provide good air
movement necessary for drying
plant foliage. Otherwise, mildew can
become a problem if late summer is
rainy and wet.
Rose-of -sharon shrubs can easily
reach a height of 15 feet in eight or
ten years if they are not controlled
regularly. Do not be afraid to cut
oversized shrubs back to as little as
18 inches. Fertilize now, and again
about mid-summer.
Potato plants are hungriest for ni
trogen during the first four weeks
they are developing. Make sure po
tato beds are receiving Vi pound of
nitrogen per 100 square feet.
Early spring hay fever is due
mainly from tree pollen. If your have
allergies, avoid these trees right
now: birches, hickories, cypresses,
junipers, sycamores, oaks and po
lars.
Finish ordering annual flower
seeds so they may be started as soon
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as possible.
New varieties include Sanvitalia
(creeping zennia) Mandarin Orange,
third ranked Ail-American Selection
for 1987. This is a superb edging or
hanging basket plant. The small
daisy-like flower with dark centers
bloom in profusion on spreading
mounds of 12 inch high foliage.
Another winner is Park's 'Dream
land Mixture' of zennias, resistant to
mildew and attain a height of about
18 inches.
There is also Think Pink' agera
tum from Burpee; Aurora' marigold
from Park that blooms two weeks
earlier, blooms longer, and holds its
color better than comparable French
varieties; and the 'Novette Star' se
ries of pentunias from Stokes.
New herbs include another AAS
winner, Purple Ruffles' basil, with a
companion, 'Green Ruffles', intro
duced by Park Seed.
Johnny's Selected Seeds has new
chervil called 'Brussells Winter' that
develops into a bigger and more
bushy plant than the old strains. Yet
another winner is Earl May's 'Sher
wood', an extremely curly parsley
that keep6 its dark color even after
several harvests.
Ever wonder how a variety gets
chosen as an All American Selection?
I've found out for us. There are 27
vegetable and 32 flower trail loca
tions for AAS in the U.S. and Canada.
Judges are volunteers, selected peo
ple from the seed industry, botanical
gardens and universities. Anony
mous entries are scored by a point
system. An entered variety is grown
beside a similar older variety so they
may be compared.
Bluebirds have been declining in
numbers for 40 years. But now they
are beginning to return to our area
because gardeners and conservation
ists are providing bluebird boxes and
"bluebird trails." The Bird Lady
says she has spotted as many as 14
birds at the Newbold White House in
Perquimans County. So she got us
some bluebird boxes. So I had a
housewarming party. Nobody came.
I'm stuck with two dozen bug biscuits
and a box of dried snails I had fixed
for hor d'oeuvres. So I'm going to
write The North American Bluebird
Society (Box 6295, Silver Spring, MD
20906) for helpful information. I want
my own bluebird family to enjoy this
year.
Farmers should insure quality
of seeds before planting them
The pressure is on to cut costs at
practically every point of expendi
tures, but it may be false economy
for the farmer to sacrifice the assur
ance of quality in seed in order to buy
non-certified seed from the bin.
"There are always seed available
that don't cost as much as top quality
certified seed," points out Perqui
mans County Agricultural Extension
Agent, Stan Winslow. "But these
seed have an unknown or uncertain
background and origin and are of un
determined quality," he adds.
Be sure that seed you purchase are
labeled for variety, germination and
purity. The best of these are the certi
fied seed that carry the information
on a blue tag. This blue tag certifies
that the particular lot of seed has
been tested and meets certification
standards. If you plan to use seed
from you bids, have them tested. The
N.C. Seed Testing Lab will test them
free of charge. All they need is a two
pound sample.
Information found on the seed tag
is listed and explained below.
Winslow urges farmers to learn what
to look for on a seed tag, to set stan
dards for the seed they are going to
buy and then shop until they find seed
that meet those standards.
Kind and Variety? the kind of crop
refers to the species (soybeans, cot
ton, etc) and is always given on the
seed tag. Variety may or may not be
stated on the analysis tag. Under this
variety definition, a hybrid is accep
table as a variety name. If the vari
ety is not given, the seed tag should
have the statement: "Variety Not
Stated."
Pure seed? Pure seed percentage
gives the percet of total weight of the
kind and vaeirty stated on the analy
sis tag. If more than one kind and va
riety is named, the pure seed per
centage of each component must be
stated. Generally, farmers choose
seed with a higher seed percentage
(98 percent or more) of one kind and
variety.
Germination? The percent of pure
seed that germinated in a standard
test is printed on the analysis tag.
This percentage is based on a num
ber of seeds that produce normal
seedlings. A normal seedling is one
that has the seed structure necessary
for survival Growers should remem
ber that germination percentage is
based on pure seed and not on the to
tal content of the bag. Most farmers
desire seed that are high (80 percent
or higher) in germination. Some
samples sent in from Perquimans
County this year have tested as low
as a 50 percent normal? 30 percent
weak germination.
Those testing less than 70 percent
normal germ should only be used as a
last resort.
Other Crop Seeds? This includes
the percentage of crop seed other
than the kind and variety listed. In
the field, other crop plants may be as
troublesome as weedy plants. Corn in
soybean seeds provides an example.
Weed Seeds? Presence of weed
seeds is expressed in percentage of
total weight. This classification in
cludes seeds, bulblets, or tubers of
plants recognized by official regula
tions or general usage as common
weeds. High quality seed should con
tain no or very low percentage of
weed seeds.
Noxious Weed Seed? Noxious
weeds are plants that are extremely
difficult to control by normal cultural
practices. The name and number of
noxious weed seeds, bulblets, or tub
ers per pound must be printed on the
analysis tag.
"Set some quality standards before
buying seed," Winslow added. "To
determine if the seeds you want to
buy meet these standards, read and
use the information on the seed anal
ysis tag. Always save a sample of
seed from each lot purchased. Attach
a seed tag to the sample. If you have
problems you can go back to your
sample to confirm the quality of the
seed you purchased."
Impacts of timber tax studied
Landowners filing 1986 tax returns
will see no changes in federal income
tax treatment of timber income or
expense according to Stanley J.
Winslow, Perquimans County Exten
sion Director. Net timber income re
ceived in 1986 still qualifies for the
long-term capital gains exclusion
which exempts 60 percent of timber
income from taxation. The basic
qualifications are that the timber be
held over six months and sold under
appropriate IRS code sections de
pending on whether the seller is a
casual investor or in the timber busi
ness. For individuals, 1986 timber in
come should be reported on Schedule
D to take advantage of long-term
capital gains Beginning January 1,
1987, the long-term capita] gains ex
clusion is history. However, some
taxpayers may still get a break on
such income in 1967, since tax reform
has established a 28 percent maxi
mum rate on long term capital gains
for 1987. Other income will be taxed
at 11, 15, 28, 35 or 38.5 percent due
1987, giving those taxpayers in the 35
or 38.5 percent brackets a break on
long-term capital gains income. In
1988, there will be no advantage for
long-term capital gains.
Reforestation tax incentives re
main unchanged under tax reform
Winslow continues. A 10 percent in
vestment tax credit may be claimed
against up to $10,000 of site prepara
tion, seedling and planting costs in
curred in a given tax year. These
costs may also be written off as de
ductions over the first 84 months fol
lowing reforestation.
Timber management incurred
each year remain fully deductible for
1986. The following changes became
effective January 1, 1987. Taxpayers
actively involved in a timber busi
ness may continue to deduct all man
agement costs annually as business
deductions. Taxpayers not in the
business of growing timber will not
be able to deduct all expenses. Active
managers who materially partici
pate on a continuous basis in timber
management activities may continue
to deduct annual expenses as miscel
laneous deductions. However, begi
nning in 1987, only miscellaneous de
ductions which exceed 2 percent of
one's adjusted gross income may be
claimed Winslow continues, and this
will reduce slightly the tax advan
tages of these deductions. Passive in
vestors in timber may use timber ex
pense deductions only to offset other
passive income. A record should be
kept of any unused deductions, as
they may be substracted from timber
income in future years to lower net
timber gains.
Stocker sale outlined
By JEFF COPELAND
Area Specialized Ageat
Livestock
Cattle producers can participate in
the Ayden Graded Stocker Sale on
March 24. Consignment sheets are
available in the County Agricultural
Extension Office. These need to be
mailed to Pitt County by March 18.
Calves are delivered and graded on
March 23 from 8:00 a.m.? 5.00 p.m.
Sale day is March 24 at 10 a.m. Pro
ducers will not be mailed sales infor
mation automatically so if you know
of anyone needing consignment
sheetB and regulations, please con
tact US at (426-5428; 482-8431; or 357
1400).
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P.O. Box 612
#3 Courthouse Square
Hertford, NC
426-74*9 ? 244-2431 (hem*)
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Several Perquimans County corn
growers were among more than 1,700
farmers nationwide who, in 1986, par
ticipated in a program to determine
whether the herbicide they use
makes a difference in yields. The
Perquimans County growers in
cluded: Ed L. Nixon and Gene Perry,
Hertford.
Farmers in North Carolina, includ
ing those Perquimans County, were
part of a "Yield Challenge" program
offered, for the third consecutive
year, by Monsanto. Growers were
challenged to plant side-by-side plots
comparing Lasso herbicide to Dual;
and observe firsthand which herbi
cide delivers a yield advantage.
"Given the current economic situa
tion, farmers are studying input
costs more carefully and analyzing
the return per dollar invested," ex
plains Steve Askew, Monsanto dis
trict manager. "That's one reason so
many farmers accept our challenge:
to see if the herbicide they used could
produce a higher yield and, there
fore, a better return on investment."
Of the 84 North Carolina farmers
who participated in the program and
took their plots to harvest, Askew re
ports 74 percent found that their on
farm trial plots showed a yield ad
vantage in favor of Lasso.
All corn growers in the "Yield
Workshop set
The Perquimans County Extension
Service and Albemarle EMC will be
holding a 4-H Electric workshop on
Saturday, April 4, 1987 from 9:00 a.m.
to 12:00 noon at the Albemarle EMC
office. At this workshop, youth will
learn how electricity works, to save
electricity and how to construct ex
tension cord. You must be 10 years
old to register because everyone will
be making an extension cord during
the workshop. Bring a bag lunch, SO
cents for a drink and $1.00 to help
cover the cost of workshop materials.
Call 426-7697. by March 30, 1967 to
register. (Pre-registration Is Re
quired! ) See you at the workshop.
Challenge" program used the same
tillage practices on each of their
plots, as well as the same method of
herbicide application, seed corn vari
ety and fertilization program. Both
plots had the same previous crop his
tory and each herbicide was used at
labeled rates.
"The results of North Carolina
growers, who recorded a yield ad
vantage with Lasso or pre-mixed
Lasso & atrazine, show that their
plots produced an average of 6.63
bushels per acre more than identical
plots treated with Dual or Bicep (a
mixture of Dual and atrazine)," says
Askew.
Participating farmers rated grass
and broadleaf weed control at har
vest equal, or better, in 95 percent of
all plots.
Results of the on-farm program
reaffirm earlier studies which show a
yield advantage with Lasso. "Careful
r
herbicide selection to reduce stress
can make a positive difference in
yields," Askew concludes.
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