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 r btHMD THf HtfDS *\ .WiuVk V 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). ti "Specializing in Medical Supplements and Other Health & life Carl T. Mumm Needs." MUMM INSURANCE AGENCY, INC. P.O. Box 612 #3 Courthouse Square Hertford, NC 426-74*9 ? 244-2431 (hem*) "Insurance ft your btt protector " 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. 1~ FARM??M| BUREAU Insurance f 01 Bureau Lewis B. Evans AGENCY MANAGER Pat Ward Jeff L. Smith AGENT AGENT 426 5636 426-740* Church Street Ext Hertford N C. Trick or treat! In the middle of the 14th century, in Spain, the style was to wear false beards. H&.R Block's trained tax preparers understand the new tax laws. 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