The Oskaloosa herald., 1912-03-28
THE CORN TESTS
MADE LAST YEAR
Reports Are Now Ready and Win
Soon, be Available,
WHAT WAS DONE IN MALAYSIA
Average Yield From the 81 Samples
Was IS Bushels - One Sample
Gave IS BusheIs--Ths Low
est Was 81 Bushels.

Ames, Iowa, March 26.--Speciai:
There has been considerable inquiry
concerning the tests which were made
during the past year In order to dem
onstrate the wide variations in the
productiveness of the seed corn plant
ed within the county by different corn
growers. With sixteen Of. these sta
has been q great amount of data to
record and tabulate. The reports are
now ready for the printers, however
and should be available In short
time, possibly early in April.
The following Is brief report OF
the work done In Mahaska county
during the past year:
Farmers Variety Test.
At corn planting time last spring
men drove through the county and
collected 81 samples of corn. These
were taken from the planter boxes or
from the sacks of seed in the field.
These samples were planted side
by side in plots. The plots were
eight hills square. Each mans seed
was planted in four plots in different
parts of the field. Planting was done
by hand, dropping three kernels pei
hill, with hills 3h feet apart.
The field was cultivated in the us
ual manner, all plots being treated
alike. :.
Careful records were kept of the
termination test of the seed, part
of each sample having been sent to
Ames, where it was tested and the
test recorded. The stand was counted
in the field in June and again in DC
tober, and, as the corn was picked
careful weights and other data were
recorded. This will be given in full
for each mans seed in the printed
reports.
The average yield from all of the
81 samples was 55 bushels. Selecting
from the total number five samples
which produced the most we find an
average yield of GA bushels per acre
az compared with As. bushels per acre
from the five lowest producing sam
pies, difference of 10 bushels pei
acre. One sample gave an average
yield of s. bushels per acre, another
81 bushels per acre, showing a differ
ence of % bushels per acre, Com
pairing the five highest yielding sam
pies with the lowest yielding sam
pies at present prices the first lot OF
seed corn produced $3.50 more pei
acre than the second. A bushe
plants about seven acres. Then a
present market prices for corn, 8
bushel of the good seed was worth
$66.50 more than bushel of pool
seed.
Individual Ear Test.
Forty ears of seed were secured
from one man for this test. These
were planted and tended the same as
the farmers varieties, except that
each ear was planted in a single row
of sixteen hills instead of in a plot.
In this lot of seed, Ave ears yielded
at the rate of 65 bushels per acre
while another Ave ears Of the same
SStu pSi S-Si
The first five ears show an average
stand in the field In October of SlK
per cent. The second five ears show
an average stand of Y. 1t require;
about fifteen seed ears to plant ar
acre We expect to get IS or sc
bushels per acre. Then each seed
ear produces corn which Is worth
$3.50. 1t pays to test the seed and
get rid of the weak and dead ears.
Thickness Of Planting.
Another set of plots in which diff
ferent numbers of kernels were plant
ed per hill, using from one to five
kernels per hill, shows that when
yield and quality were both consider
ed the best results were obtained
where planting was done at the rate
of az kernels per hill, dropping
in one hill and 3 in the next and so on
These tests demonstrate the neet
! Of adhering to the Corn Growers
Rules as follows:
|. Pick seed corn in September.
2. Test each ear.
3. Grade the seed.
4. Plant best so or 100 ears along
one side of the field.
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