Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1915-07-10
CORN CULTIVATION
! = y = = y y y X y y y y y y
BY LUTHER ], CHAPLIN.
County Agricultarist, Marion County
Oregon.)

County Agricultarist, Marion County
oregon)
Before attempting to grow any crop
il would be well TO study carefully its
root system and natural habits OF growth
and to proceed without this knowledge
is to invite failure. Corn is simply a
giant grass with tremendous root
system. These fibrous roots fill the
surface soil. interlacing each other from
row to row. They come as near the sur.
face as the moisture will allow There
fore. corn should not be cultivated, af.
ter the first cultivation, more than 5
inches deep. To do so will cut off the
principal feeders of the corn plant and
greatly hinder its development, Deep
late cultivation has been known 70 re.
tard the maturing of part of field of
corn by as much as ten days,
Three principal factors determine the
results of corn crop. First, the kind
of seed, second, the preparation of the
seed bed and third, the methods of cul.
tivation,
If the seed is poor from low Welding
strains, low in vitality, or otherwise
weak, no amount of subsequent care
can induce a maximum crop.
II the seed bed is bad, mmpy, too
loose, or too compacted or poorly drain.
ed aud. therefore, cold, the best of seed
and the best of tillage will fail to Sc.
cure satisfactory results So also, will
the crop fail to yield the best returns,
however well the seed be selected and
planted. if the method of tillage is bad.
1t is with the methods of tilage that
wish to deal in this article First let
MS consider what are the purposes Of
cultivation. There are three principal
reasons for cultivation; The proper
aeration of the soil; the destruction of
weeds; and the conservation Of moist
ure. If the seed bed has been proper,
| ly prepared the first cultivation may
we'll be given with spiketooth har.
row. before the corn is mp, This OPP
Grafton may be repeated after the cOru
is three or four inches high by slanting
| the teeth backward somewhat
After this the corn should receive one
deep cultivation with q six or eight
narrow.shovel cultivator Stirring the
soil deep at this time permits treeI
circulation of air to the depth Wltivat
ed and consequently dries and warm'
il and renders available an abundance
of plant food. This cultivation will
occur at time when the loss of the
moisture from the surface soil will usu
ally be a benefit rather than an injury
aud better bed will be formed fol
the tiny roots. This deep cultivation
will induce the roots to form deep il
search of moisture aud food rathe
than nearer the surface,
After the corn has reached heigh
of eighteen inches, the roots will hav,
met between the rows and subsequen
deep cultivation will destroy many o
them. This root pruning is very harm
full as it not only lessons the possibil
ity for maximum development but /
also retards the ripening of the corn
This last effect is especially to b.
avoided in the Willamette valley wher
the growing season is none too long TO
corn, at best.
Shallow cultivation, not deeper tina
three or three and one.half inche
should be practiced after the first dee
cultivation. This will preserve the bes
mulch for conserving the soil moistur,
will not destroy the roots, and can b
made to destroy the weeds.
The best tool for this later cultyato
is spketooth cultiyator, one with
large number of narrow teeth or
knife attached to the inside shanks /
the place of shoyes, This instwmcn
will form the best possible mulch, If tn
soil has been properly prepared and tn
first cultivation has not been give
when the soil was too wet. II the sol
is cloddy, a board drag or "float ma
be used to pulverizc it, but the cu
tiyator should invariably follow thi
Immediately, as the loss of moistur
is very rapid from a smooth, compacte
surface such rs is formed by the tloa
The float, If used too freely tends +
destroy the granular condition OF th
soil, reducing il to q dust. Althoug
the term "dust mulch is freQuentl
used, this condition s extremely und,
sirable, the granular "earth mulch
being the condition desired
The frequency Of these later, mrfac
CIVILIZATIONS will be determined by III
condition of the surface soil aud th
growth of weeds The mulch should Ia
restored as often %, t is lost whelhc
by showers or by gradually settling {,
gcther, and Of course the weeds mu.
be kept down as they draw heavily O
the soil moisture and the ayniabl
plant food
A more careful study Of the require
ments would doubtless result in NOR
satisfactory results 200 corn growing !