The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1907-03-08
HOW MUCH FERTILIZER TO
APPLY.

The question, "Iiow much fertllize
should be used per acreT" cannot be an
swered definitely, but only In a genera
way. IL is sometimes put In tits form
"NRct In the most profitable amount tina
may be applied per acre2" Neither car
the question in the amended form b,
exactly and accurately answered. Thu
SOL. lis character, condition. preparation
etc. may be well known. or GGntFOlIabi
factors, but we know not what the sea
SONG may be. says Hon. r.. j, Redding
Director Georgia Experiment Station. De,
partnent Of Agriculture, In the Virginia
Carolina Fertilizer Almanac.
We know that some crops will heai
larger amounts Of fertilizers with reason.
able assurance Of profitable returns thar
may be expected of other coils. A croI
that occupies the soil from the fail season
until spring, or carly summer will beal
heavier ferlilizing han will a crop tina
Ia planted in the spring and ripens fot
harvest In midsummer, The first case is
Illustrated by oats. wheat, or other small
grain, or grass, especially when sown In
the fall of the year. Such a crop occu-
pies the soil during the late fall and win
Ter and early sprtng-duftng which Pc
fiodH the rains ara usually abundant
ripehing for harvest in late spring. or
very early summer, before the burning
summer heat and possible drouths OF
June and July, Oats and wheat therefore
are idenl crops for liberal fertilizing.
~ AZ ~ SE1Atitt al INV Aali AiDD Ill tIt
ordinary dry uplands Of the South. 1t
has but q short period In which TO devel-
op its aowers-tasseis and silks-coyer-
ing but a few days, II very dry weather
shall prevail when this critical period Is
approaching, and for some time after IL
is passed, the crops may prove a greater
or less failure. There can be no second
effort, no second period OF blooming.
II is different In the case OF cotton,
which commences to bloom and make
fruit in June tor even ~earlier) and con-
ttnues throughout the summer until
checked by a severe frost In November,
II has n ttnrnhG OF chances"
Cotton Is therefore another ideal crop
for hharal fertiiiEing. A small amount
Of fertilizers applied per acre will no
on its cost thar will a larger amount.
To illustrate: An application of 81 worth
OF fertlilzeT per acre may cause an in
creased yield of cotton tat 10 cents per
pound of the value Of So to 81. or a profit
Of 200 TO 800 per cent. on It's cost. | have
frequently had such results. But it does
not fellow that twice as heavy an appli-
cation viii produce twice as large re-
suits, or that three times as much would
cause three times as great an Increase
In the yield. In other words. the rate
OF Increase In the yield of cotton will
not be In proportion to the increase in
the amount Of fertilizers applied. Two
dollars worth Of fertilizer per acre may
yield an Increase In the crop OF Sc; but
vs. worth would not therefore bring an
increase OF SIS.
Blu careful observation has shown that
an application OF SIS to Sc worth OF fertil-
izers properly balanced Is a safe amount
to apply per acre on cotton. Many farm
ers In Georgia have secured satisfactory
returns from an application of so much
as 700 pounds per acre,
! think 500 pounds a perfectly safe limit
on upland In fairly good condition, well
prepared and properly cultivated In cot
ton For corn, / would limit the amour.
20 go to 800 pounds per acre on old up
lands.