St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1918-02-02
Growing More Corn per Acre

the soil in many parts of the South
was not producing as heavily as it
should on account Of it not containing
sufficient available plant food and hui
mus to produce the maximum yields,
and in going through a portion of
the country this fall | talked to many
farmers and from n secured the
following information regarding his
corn crop.
Last year he had one of his fields
in spring oats which he later drilled
cowpeas, only obtaining a light stand.
SO these two crops he grazed off with
hogs.
Last spring he decided to plant this
field to corn, so broke it early, about
eight or nine inches deep, and when
ready to plant, narrowed it down
smooth. He next laid it off in rows
four feet apart and with a distributor
applied 80 pounds of fertilizer per
acre. Following this with the plant
er, on April 7th the corn was dropped
90 inches apart in the rows, using a
yellow dent corn, the variety which
in previous years had shown up best,
but on account of the spring being
very wet when planted he only sec
lred an IS or 80 per cent stand of
corn plants.
To see just what could be done to
boost this corn and secure as high a
yield as possible, he tried an expert
ment last spring by applying acid
phosphate and nitrate Of soda to part
OF his corn. He marked the field off
into four sections and used a differ
ent fertilizer on each portion, using
acid phosphate 16 per cent on one
portion, nitrate of soda on another, a
mixture of equal parts of acid phos-
phate and nitrate of soda on the
third, while the last section he left I'm
fortified as check. By the time he
had obtained the fertilizer for this
crop it was up about eight inches. The
material was applied and cultivated
in at once with one-horse cultivator
three small sweeps and two
Golfers, going twice to the row. This
was the first cultivation given this
corn, which was followed in a couple
Of days by a nice rain which soaked
and distributed the fertilizer through
the soil.
AS soon as the land was dry en-
ough and in condition 1t was plowed
out with a scooter and 14-inch scrape.
Later it was cultivated again, break
ing it out two burrows to the row.. BY
his time it was tasseling and the
corn receiving the additional nitrogen
growing nicely.
Since his growth had led himself as
well as his neighboring farmers who
saw it to believe there was going to
be an increase, on October 4th it was
shucked and weighed, each portion
separately when he learned the nitrate
plat produced the heaviest, yielding
29.13 bushels per acre Of a good,
sound, marketable corn. The portion
receiving the acid phosphate and nj
Lrate of soda produced 1888 bushels
per acre, but of a grade not quite as !
AaEg'#.~E& 4
good as the nitrate alone produced.
The corn he applied the acid phos-
phate alone to made an acreage yield
of 1880 bushels, but Of a poor quality |
corn, while the check produced an
acreage yield of 1880 bushels of even
i poorer quality corn than the acid
phosphate alone. The quality of the
on ali four sections was reduced
quite in proportion to the yields.
At the time / vas there cor was
$3.50 a bushe1 in his town, SO
he following table represents what
lie received in yield of ORR on the
Job as well as dollars and cents for
he corn each section produced
Check, 1880 bushels per acre; value
corn per acre, $2o.70; acid phos-
,hate. $3.50 bushels per acre; value of
corn per acre. $2s.7o; acid phos-
,hate and nitrate of soda, 1888 bus
lels per acre; value of corn per acre,
- %E 4
81. 80. nitrate Of soda, 1858 bushels
'er acre; value Of orr per acre,
p44.29.
On account Of the small, poor
the crops had been showing