Durant weekly news. (Durant, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 190?-1944, 1913-11-07


it's terminating power between blit.
ting paper or or cloth placed between
plates and kept moist. The seed
should be placed in warm room and
allowed to germinate from four to six
days. Well selected and well stored
seed will show a termination of 80 to
} 100 per cent
Planting.
The time for planting kafir is from
ten days to two weeks later than the
average date for planting corn in any
given locality Like most other sor-
ghums. kafir is subtropical plant.
and the seed will not germinate read
ly in cold soil. The seed may rot be-
fore termination takes place. or tbs
slow growing young plants may be
choked by weeds. The result will be
poor stand, or no stand at ALL
The rate of planting will depend
somewhat upon whether the crop is
grown principally for The grain or as
a combined grain and forage crop.
When planted for grain production,
the stand should be thinner than in the
second case. IL is believed that better
results are obtained where seeds are
dropped one at time at intervals OF
seven to ten inches than where plant
ed three or four kernals to a hill On
the high plains of northwestern Tex
as, one plant to each eight or nine in
ches of row space has given the best
results. A slightly thicker seeding
will be possible at lower elevations
and under less severe conditions. The
tendency, however, is to plant the crop
too thick, which results in a total
failure of grain in the dry seasons.
A thin stand will produce an excellent
yield of grain in the wet season, a
good yield in a normal season and a
fair yield in a dry season.
Method OF planting.
Kafir may be surface planted
with an ordinary corn planter or listed
with either single-row or two-row
lister planter. Listing is preferable
in soils subject to blowing, as the
young plants at the bottom of the list
er furrow are protected from the cut
ting action of blowing sand or soil
grains. Local experiance, however,
suggests the best method
Cultiyating.
The kafir plant makes a slow grow
ing while young and is easily choked
by weeds. The cultivation of the
crop should start early in the season
and should be frequent enough to de-
stroy all weeds and retain surface
mulch for holding moisture in the SOIL
The spike-tooth harrow run either
lengthwise or crosswise the rows In
surface-planted kafir will give salts
factory results for the first two cul-
tivations. The first narrowing should
be done about the time the plants
are appearing above the surface of the
soil and the second one just before |
the plants are large enough to be sat
isfactorily worked with the row culti- |
vator. The listed crop must be culti- |
waited with the lister cultivator. For |
the first cultivation the disks are set |
to turn the soil away from the young |
plants, after which the disks are re-
versed TO throw the soil toward the |
plants, thus filling the burrows and |
leveling the ridges as the civilizations
continue. This process gradually |
buries the first-formed roots and the |
base of the plants and anchors the |
plants against overthrow by heavy
winds when the ground is wet. 1t
also places the root system deeper in
the soil, where the moisture is more
abundant and where II will he less
easily injured by the cultivator. After
the ridges have been leveled any or
binary cultivator may be used.
While the plants are young the cul-
tivation should be deep and thorough,
thus encouraging a deep root system.
Later it should be shallow, to maintain
a surface mulch and not damage Or
destroy the feeding roots.
Harvesting.
The crop harvested by cutting and
shocking in the field or by heading
in the field. In the first case the
row binder is commonly used Where
be done with the kafir header. the
grain header, or the hand
Curing.
When the heads alone are harvest
ed they should be spread in thin lay
ers or windows to dry before being
bulked or threshed. Kafir heads
heat very quickly if put in large bulk
while green or damp, The loss caus-
ed by heating Is Sometimes very praat