Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1913-10-08
SELECTING SEED
FOR THE NEW CROP
Ten important Suggestions Given the
Farmer by the State Board
of Entomology.

Atlanta, Ga.-The time has come
when the farmers of Georgia must
select their cotton seed for next years
planting; and in view of the many
pests and diseases to which the plant
is now subject, this is no simple or
easy task.
The State Board of Entomology lays
down ten rules or suggestions rela-
tive to cotton seed selection which,
If followed carefully by the farmers,
will materially assist them in elimi-
mating plant pests and diseases from
their fields.
Generally speaking, the seed should
be selected from the strongest and
hardest plants, such as are free from
diseases and which have the greatest
percentage of fruit properly located.
More specifically, the selection SHOULD
be made, says State Entomologist E.
Lee Worsham, with reference to re-
sistance to black root or wilt disease;
resistance to root knot and anthrac-
nose; fruitfulness and earliness; per-
centage of lint; type of plant and dis
tribution of fruit on the plant.
root or wilt disease the plant should
be chosen from that section of the
field where the ordinary cotton suffer
ed greatest damage. Here, however,
the selection should be made of the
hardest and best developed plants.
Watch Out for Root Knot.
Care should also be taken to Sc
lect those plants which are resistant
to root knot or nematode worms. The
nematode worm is parasite on the
roots of plants which causes knots,
commonly known as nematode gals
or root knot. The plant is stunted
and sometimes killed. AS the COM
mon cowpea is very susceptible to
this worm, it is dangerous to follow
such pea crop with cotton. The wilt
resistant strains are somewhat re-
sistant to root knot, and the depart
ment believes by continued selection
of the most resistant plants, this quail
ity may be greatly improved.
Another thing to be avoided In the
selection of the seed is anthracnose,
fungus disease of cotton which
causes the bolls to rot and some sea-
sons does a great deal of damage, &C.
casionally as high as so per cent. Of
the bolls rotting off. All varieties
of cotton are more or less suscepti-
BILE to anthracnose. At present the
best way to control this disease is by
rotation of crops and by the use of
resistant varieties through careful
seed selection. A plant badly affect
ed by anthracnoSe should not be Sc
lected, even though it is very resist
ant to wilt and is well fruited.
Fruitfulness should be carefully
considered in seed selection, with
view to increasing the yield per acre.
Where possible, the department advis-
es the selection of the most fruitful
stalks by comparison.
Get Early Varieties.
Earliness is another important point
In selection, especially in Southwest
Georgia. where it will be necessary
next year to meet the invasion of the
cotton boil weevil Two ways are
suggested of securing an early resist
ant strain. First by crossing the wilt
resistant strain with early varieties,
and second by selecting the earliest
plants from the resistant strains now
at hand. 1t is believed that the indi-
vidual selection of the earliest plants
u.
The department advises that no
stalk should be selected which yields
less than 33 1-3 per cent. of lint. In
it's own work it discards all stalks
that yield less than "a per cent. of
lint. The only satisfactory method of
determining the quality of lint yield
ed by stalk is to gin each stalk sep
arately with hand gin.
Care should be taken also as to the |
type of plant chosen. The best stalks |
to select are those having long fruit |
ing limbs close to the ground and |
with joints close together. The fewer !
large stalking branches a plant has
the better, provided the fruiting
branches are more numerous
In the matter of distribution and
arrangement of fruit over the stalk. |
it is best to select the plants that
have the most fruit on the lower part,
because these begin fruiting earlier. /,
Roguing is regarded as an import
ant practice in the selection of cot
ton seed. That is, where a field is to
be used particularly for the selec- /
ton of seed, the diseased and stunted
stalks should be cut out about July
1 or August /, to prevent crossing
with the producing plants and there
by reducing their resistance.
Care in Ginning.
The next thing is proper ginning.
The cotton selected for seed should
be ginned on hand gin, if possible.
This does away with danger of adul-
iteration or mixture with diseased /
seed. If the cotton is ginned on a
public gin, all of the seed should be '
removed from the breast of the gin
and other parts before the cotton is
run through, and the seed should be Il
allowed TO drop on the floor or on a
sheet; it should never be allowed to =,
run through the seed carrying auger.
The work on the wilt disease of
cotton, development of resistant
strains and seed selection, has been
in charge of Mr.. A. C. Lewis, assist
ant state entomologist, since 1905. I'm
der his direction there have been de-
veloped number of resistant hybrids,
and this special seed has been fur
nished to farmers in many sections
of the state.
The State Board of Entomology will
be glad to assist any farmer in max
ing individual seed selections. Where