Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1911-03-03
PREPARING LAND FOR CORN.
lBy Byron Hunter, Agriculturist u.
). Department of Agriculture

III has been throughly demonstrate
ed by the experiment station OF the
Washington State College and a great
many farmers that corn can be raised
prohtably on much of the wheat land
OF eastern Oregon, eastern Washing
ton and northern Idaho, during the
year the land lies idle to summer fall
low. To make corn a successful crop,
however, it must be given square
deal. ~ Wheat, oats and barley (prin-
dpally the former) have been our
great staple, money-making crops.
Because of this, these crops naturally
receive first attention. Corn is plant
ed after the proper time for sowing
other spring grain. This makes it
very convenient to allow the corn land
to lie until time to plant the seed, or
IunpIoWed, until the other spring work
has been finished. The loss of soil
moisture by evaporation is very rapid
IN the spring from land that has be-
come packed by the winter rains.
Unless the seed bed for corn is prop
erly prepared two conditions usually
result which contribute materially
towards making the crop unsuccess-
full
/. When corn land is plowed late,
just before the crop is planted, the
soil usually has become so dry that it
breaks up in hard clods and chunks.
A great deal OF work is then required
to put the seed bed in good condition.
Owing to the dryness of the soil it is
frequently difficult to make the seed
terminate sufficiently to give a good
uniform stand.
,. Like other crops corn requires
considerable water in order to make
rotitable yields. When the soil mois-
ture that should be used by the grow
ing crop is permitted to evaporate
from the surface of the ground be-
fore the seed bed is prepared, we
should not expect maximum returns.
Especially is thus true in a region
where the dry season comes during
the summer months, lie, at the time
corn makes its principal growth.
The seed bed for corn may be pre-
pared successfully in at least three
different ways:
1. Deep fall blowing is usually
best. If the ground is covered with
heavy stubble it should first be thor
oughly cut and worked into the sur
face soil with a sharp disc harrow.
The stubble will then be covered bet
ter by the pillow and more thoroughly
distributed in the SOIL a very essen
tial item in retaining moisture and
causing the stubble to decay. Fall
blowing loosens and opens up the soil.
This permits much of the rain and
snow water to sink deeply into the
| ground that would be lost as surface
run-Off were the surface soil compact.
Loose, porous soil does not freeze so
! hard as compact soil. Fall blowing
will often permit the ground to thaw
out quickly enough to receive a great
deal OF water from a heavy snow that
would be lost were the ground frozen
deeply. During the winter the rains
settle fall plowed ground to about the
right degree of firmness, so that
enough surface cultivation to destroy
weeds and maintain a loose mulch
from early in the spring until plant
ing time completes the preparation of
the seed bed
2. When it is not possible to pillow
corn land in the fall, spring blowing
may be very successful. If the
ground is covered with heavy stubble
it should first be cut with a sharp
disc in the autumn as indicated above
| Where blowing is the first operation
in the spring it should be done early
as early as the soil is in good work
ing condition. To settle the SOIL
cause weed seed to terminate and
check the loss of water by evapora-
ton, the harrow should follow the
mulch must be maintained and the
weeds thoroughly destroyed just be-
fore the seed is planted.
8. Another excellent way of pre-
pairing land for corn is to disc in the
early spring some time before the
plowing is done. This checks evapo-
ration, mixes the stubble with the
surface soil so that it turns under
we'll, covers the weed seed lying on
the surface of the ground and causes
them to terminate. When the land
is thoroughly disced and narrowed in
the early spring, two or three weeks
before being plowed, the soil usually
turns over in a very mellow condition.
a crop of weeds being killed at the
same time.
Very seldom is there enough work