Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1918-11-09
MANY BARE COTTON
 FIELDS IN STATE
N ls Not Too Late To Sow Small
 Grains For Winter Cover.
w. E. Ayers, Arkansas Experiment
 Station,

W. E. Ayers, Arkansas Experiment
 There are yet many bare cotton fields in the State. From these the winter rains will carry away by wash ing and teaching much of the nitro. gen and some of the other plant food elements which become available dur ing the winter. These plant foods are badly needed for the production of crops, and should be conserved. It is not yet too late to SOW the small grains for winter cover. Of these, rye should receive first consideration, but oats or barley may be used. Rye is perhaps the most dependable crop to be used for winter cover and graz ing. It is very hardy and will grow on any of our cotton fields. Another desirable feature about rye as a cover crop is the ease with which a stand may be obtained. It will also grow on land which is so poor as to make the growing of winter legumes risky. In the Southern one-third of the state red rust proof oats make a good cover crop, and may be sown as late as No. vember 15, but should be sown as early as possible. The seed are in- expensive and easy to obtain. They will not stand as close grazing as rye. but furnish considerable pasturage if proper precautions are taken.
 Y. hi v1o Nf +hN state turf oats may be safely used. They should be sown as early as pos sible, but may be sown as late as November 10 with promise of fairly good results, except in the extreme northern portion of the State. Turf oats will serve the same purposes for the northern two-thirds of the state as red rust proof for the southern DOT tion.
 Barley is not extensively grown in the South, but where 1t is available will serve good purpose as a cover crop for our cotton fields.
 Methods of seeding.-The small grains are planted most economically by the use of three to five furrow, one horse disk, drill. The seed are more economically used and a better stand obtained. The crops also stand the winter better when drilled than when sown broadcasted, but if drill Is not available, broadcast seeding will give good results. When sown broad cast the seed may be covered by the use of a heel sweep, spring tooth harrow, or some other shallow culti- vating implement. The seeding should be done between the pickings or the cotton. so as to prevent knock ing the cotton out and making pick. ing difficult.
 Rate of Seeding.-Rye, when seeded this late in the season, should be sown at the rate of one to one and one-half bushels per acre, or at the rate of fifty to seventy pounds when drilled.
 Oats and barley should be seeded at the rate of about forty to sixty pounds per acre if drilled, and com. paratively heavier if broadcasted.
 Cover Crops Will Pay.-An average crop of any of the small grains at the time it must be turned under will contain plant food which is worth from four to five dollars. This plant food has, of course, been taken from the soil, but 1t would otherwise have been largely lost by teaching and washing had the crop not been plant. ed. In addition to the plant food con. tained, these cover crops furnish a vast amount of humus, which improves the physical condition of the soil. pre- vents running together and baking. and increases the water holding ca pacity of the soil. Y.
 The winter grazing accorded by GOV. CT crops is usually sufficient to cover the. cost of seed and seeding if, proper precautions are taken so. that the live. stock are not allowed to injure the soil by grazing during the wet weather. This should be carefully avoided.
 The action of growing crops in pre- venting waste of nitrogen and other plant foods and in the improvement, of the physical condition of the, soil suggests general use of winter cover crops on the cotton fields of the state and of the entire South. Good win, ter cover crops-legume or non- legume77-pay well. The efforts of farmers who aim to have their whole farms covered during the winter are sure, to be rewarded by bigger crops and more profits.