Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1914-04-03
Raising Cotton Under Irrigation Requires
StudyOf Soil, And Best Methodist OF Culture,
And Selection Of Seed Is Vital, SaysEngineer

a strong feeder. one that under proper
culture does not require an unusual
amount of water. In the very fiAe soils
of our delta valleys. our principal cotton
areas. the soils should be deeply pIowcd.
Sub%Soiling 10 II dc,,th of l. To L. inches
will improve the mechanical condition.
allowing the air to enter and assist in
breaking M the fnHeiaile compounds. set
ting free plant food IN a soluble form.
and allowing the roots Ia penetrate and
feed deeply. and 50 : much larger per
ccmtaee of the moisture in the soil will
he utiiizd requiring the application Of
a correspondence les. amount.
DEVELOPING PLANT.
The cotton plant develops best in a
firmrd seed bed. vet not one that il Close
~ packed. 4. very loose soil causes *
~ccssfye waod growth. n condition which
under irrigation j. of the uimo>t import
ancc to prevent. For this reason il j.
advisable to plow the cotton field ~
long "a period before planting ~ j. pos
siblc.
III 40 seeding lime the soil > not in !;
moi>; condition the ground should he ir-
ricatcd. preferably In burrows. these he
ing LAID out the same distance apart that
the rows will be- spaced. the head bitches
not being more than :.rO feet apart in the
soft sand, soils. nor more than 100 feet
in the clay loans. the short furrow per
hitting of more eycn distribution of the
moisture. After irrigation and mulching
tho surface with harrow and disc the
seed should he planted over the burrows
m which the water was run
Every means which lucs not tcHd to
lessen the WELD or injure the quality Of
the lint should hc nScl Ia induce early
f~ruiiing anl maturing. This j. pariicu
iarly iilportant i'm sections infested with
the boil wceyil. Recent Investigations
lead la the belief that a Scant moisture
Scuprly dnrinfg the early growth. with
close planting i'm the row. a iirmrd Sec'l
bed. aud shallow cultivation. tend to pro
.ducc early f~ruiting branches and fruit /;
10 aid in preventing I'm excessive vegcta
tive growth and IN producing 4 symnst
rical plant. II 4 plant can be produced
possessing not 10 exceed three main veg
.~ctativc branches. much ~ the nouriSh
mcnt otherwise WASTED will he spent in
producing fruit. the real purpose IF the
work As one grower remarked. II; j.
easier io p%rolncr five bolls each nn four
plants than to produce twenty hollis on
ono plant. AMI possible 10 mature them
much earlier This remark was called
forth in reference 10 the matter of close
spacing IN the row. II apr-ars that bet
ter result. are obtained by planting IN
wide rows. from T. 10 - inches apart.
and ~.nacing closely in the rev. later
chopping 10 widths of l. to - inches in
The row. ThcSr distances mus, bc r.er
lated ,"mcvhat hv the soil type. VI how
ever. the vcgctativc branching j. allowed
then II becomes very advisable To shop
10 much wider distances.
After planting and termination. water
>hopld not he applied until uuitc nctrS
sarv. a. indicated ~ plant and soil.
Rapid. saPpy growth ~ this period y r.
tai TO the crop. The wood growth should
~ this time he held in check and the
plan; induced To throw ont fruit stems at
each Joint from the ground inward. The
Wiltin- of the leaf during the heat az the
day does not necessarily indicate II need
Of moisture. " does indicate that the
TRANSPORTATION FROM The leaves u more
rapid than the absorption of moisture Nv
the roots. II. however. thn leaves frcshrn
during the night there j. no immediate
need call for moisture. \ wiltcd leaf ~
the morning and II slightly darkcn~d
shade Of leaf are unmiStakahle calls for