The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1914-06-02
FOR THE NEXT WHEAT CROP.

FOR THE NEXT WHEAT CROP.
No matter how well the ground u
prepared. or how favorable the sea-
son. q first class crop Of wheat cannot
be grown without good seed. writes
c. 9. in q timely article In the Kansas
Industrialist. The first point In secur-
Ing good seed il to obtain good
Ivariety-one that ID adapted to the soil
and the climate where 1t 10 to be
grown. This varies with different To-
calities. In central and western Kan
sas Turkey and Kharkof are usually
best. In eastern Kansas. Fultz. Har-
vest Queen and Curreil are among the
leading varieties.
Another point Of importance Is to
keep the seed pure. Most Of the wheat
grown in Kansas IL . mixture OF many
varieties. Some Of these are good. but
many Of them are poor. The poor
ones probably use as much moisture
and plant food a. the good varieties.
but they will not produce as much
grain
1t il important that seed wheat be
free from weed seeds. chaff. straw.
and small. shrunken kernels. Weeds
will use up water and plant food ana
consequently reduce the yield OF
wheat. Some of the worst weed pests
in Kansas were probably distributed in
seed wheat.
Wheat, il it comes from the thresh-
ing machine. contains chaff. straw.
and many small. shrunken kernels.
Such wheat should be cleaned before
seeding. The chaff and the seed are
likely to clog the drill, or at least. will
cause uneven seeding. The small and
shrunken kernels may terminate, but
they will not produce as vigorous
plants as will plump ones In favor
able season. such plants may yield al
most as much as strong plants. but In
an unfavorabie season. as severe
winter, many Of them are likely to die
and thus reduce the yield.
Kansas loses about 100000 every
year because Of wheat smut. all of
which can be entirely prevented at
very little expense. Smut is caused
by a very small plant which grows
inside Of the wheat plant and produces
it's own seed in the place Of the wheat
kernel. The seeds, or spores. as they
are called, terminate with the wheat
seed and produce more smut the next
year. In addition to greatly reducing
the yield. smut Injuries the quality Of
wheat.
There are two kinds of smut, the
more common of which is the sinking
smut. or bunt. This can be easily pre-
)vented by treating the wheat with q
solution Of one pound Of formalin to
forty-fi gallons Of water. The solu-
ton. If properly applied, will kill the
spores. but will not injure the wheat.
One Of the hest methods is; to remove
the smut balls with a tanning mill and
then sprinkle the wheat with the for
malin solution, shoveling 1t over at
the same time until all is moistened.
The wheat should then be covered
with a canvas for about two hours,
when 1t IL ready to be sown or to be
dried and stored as long as is desired.
Sometimes smut is SO bad that all the
smut balls cannot be removed with a
tanning mill. In that case. it is adj
visable to use a smut machine or else
dip the wheat in the solution and re-
move the smut balls as they come to
the top. The expense Is SO slight that
no one can afford to use seed wheat
without treating it IL there is any smut
present.
In the neighborhood Of 100000
acres Of wheat will be harvested in
Kansas this year. The present pros
poets are that the yield to the acre
will exceed that of the past few years
by several bushels. With the present
large acreage and the prospects of
substantial yields. the total output
| ~~ov~,icoc IN ho In ~ 20 000 ono
bushels
generally over these wonderful wheat
prospects, we should not forget that
the time is almost upon us when pre-
paration for a 1915 wheat crop should
begin. All evidence from investigative
work, general observations, and exper-
fence clearly indicates that the time
to put land into shape for wheat is as
soon after harvest time as practicable.
In other words. the land that is to pro-
duce wheat in 1915 should be disked.
plowed, or listed. as the case may be.
as soon after this years harvest as
possible. The more land that II deep
ly plowed in July. the more favorable
will be the prospects for a maximum
crop another year.
! After the land has produced a maxi
mum crop. as. will be the case this
year, 1t will have exhausted itself OF
all the available supply OF plant food
and water. and before the soil is ready
to produce another crop it must be
given time to develop more available
plant food. and to absorb water. Plow-
| ing and early seeded help to do this
The longer the soil can be plOwed
and titled before planting wheat. the
more plant food and water it will be
able to accumulate for the production
Of another crop.