Arizona republican., 1917-07-25
(Prepared by E. w. Hudsonl
And Late irrigation of Egy


 Following my recent letter, in which
 discussed at length some Of the prop
 lems in regard to cotton growing;
 mainly early cultivation, early lrr1ga-
 tion and thinning, I wish at this tune
 to call your attention to late cultlva- tion. mid season irrigation and late irrigation; or in other words, the han ding of the crop from this time until maturity.
 Cultivation should be continued at intervals of from ten to fifteen days, so long as a team can get between the rows without breaking or inJuring the plants. This work is generally done with a two horse riding cultivator. but in some instances a one-horse single cultivator is used after the plants be- come too high to straddle with two row cultivator.
 When the cotton plants have eight or ten leaves, it is desirable to begin ridging the plants. This should be continued at each cultivation, until the plants are on ridge three to four inches high and twelve to IS inches wide. The advantage of having the cotton plants ridged in this manner is I that in late irrigation, more even dis | tribution of the water can be secured. | This practice also helps to conserve the
 moisture in the soil Immediately 1 around the plants and to cover up any | small weeds or grass that nav Start cotton has been given frequent thor | cottonhaS been gwen frequent thor ough cultivation. it is not necessary 1 to go through the rows with single l horse cultivator, but in such event, during the last cultivation the culti- F., xyrit hi 1 or ridgers The object in view is to | level a space about eighteen inches be- tween the ridges so that the irrigation | water will spread evenly over same. Confining the water in this way. be- tween ridges, should carry the water | through the rows and distribute irr1- gation more evenly than can be secured l in any other way. One should always bear in mind however that the ridges
 must be high enough and strong enough to hold the water between the rows and force same over any small irregularities, such as high or low places that may occur throughout the rows.
 After July 1st, on most soils, the cot
 ton will probably require irrigation from ten to fifteen days; by this, I refer to new land or land under which the ground water is not close. The cotton will be Towering freely about July 1st, and should be given enough water to prevent wilting during the
 middle of the day. Some willing, early in the season. does little or no harm, but after the towering begins, the plants should not be allowed to wilt seriously. When the squares can be seen above the crown of the plants. in a general view across the field, it is
 evident the plants are fruiting nicely
 and that they are in a proper condition to produce maximum crop. In other
 words, the cotton plants should be ir-
 rigated in such a manner that the
 plants appear to be completely covered with squares. When irrigation is ] needed, the flowers can be seen about four to eight inches below the crown
 of the plant and a decided yellow color will be noted in looking over the field If the plants are allowed to bloom free ly in the crown. it is evident that irri-
 gation has been delayed too long and the productivity of the plants has been
 permanently impaired. This rule, as
 denoted by the squares and flowers, is the best rule to follow covering mid
 season and late irrigation. With a little attention. any farmer can famil- iariZe himself with these points and add to his cotton production, I believe fully 25 to 50 per cent
 This rule of keeping squares and flowers in evidence holds good until the 18th of September, or the first of October, however, after September 15, the tendency should be, so far as pos
 sible. to withhold irrigation and make the cotton bloom directly in the top of the plants. There issno need of the growth and development of squares after September. 15, since none of these bolls open.
 The length of time the water should