The Springdale news., 1918-05-17
TERMINATION TESTS
 MADE IF SEED CORN
OF SAMPLES TEST ED SHOW 95 PER CENT OR
 BETTER.

By [. ". Osborn, Agricultural LEper-
 iment Station, |. of A. Fayetteville.
 Termination tests made of Arkansas seed corn indicate that the seed situa- tion in this state is much more favor able than in Northern corn-belt states.
 Tests were made by the Agricultural
 Experiment Station of the University of Arkansas under the direction oi
 Nr. L. W. Osborn with over one hun dred samples sent in by county agents and farmers from about 40 counties of the state While the percentage of examination of these samples varies from SC to 100 per cent, the average of all samples sent In was 94 per cent. Two-thirds of the samples sent in test cd sS per cent or better. ss per cont Of the samples tested 90 per cent or better, AK per cent ranged between 80 and % per cent and i've per cont below so per cent.
 There Is danger that late planted corn. and corn in general which ma tured late, may have an impaired ger mination due to the fact that the early freeze of last fall may have caught the crop before 1t was fully matured or when fl was full of moisture" says MT. Osborn. Tn Arkansas. corn planted At the usual time in early spring natures in August or Septem- ber. and ordinarily is well dried out before severe freezes take place. We'll dried mature corn will withstand very tow tempera lures without seriously af fecting the vitality. Of course, there is always the danger that even com pleteiy dried corn may absorb moiss ure if exposed during damp weather in winter and that subsequent freezes may lower it's vitality. Corn which has been stored when thoroughly dry in fairly close crib will usually re- tain it's vitality and make dependable seed Corn stored damp is lke7y to have it's germination lowered
 Test Corn To Be Sure of Quality.
 Ordinarily very little attention is given to testing seed corn in this state The extreme cold of the past winter, however. is sufficient reason to justify making tests 10 determine the quality of the seed to be planted A good index of the ability of seed corn to germinate may be obtained by the following method: Choose 100-ears al random and remove three kernels from each al different parts of the ear. as the butt. tip and middle Mix the kernels to make a composite sam pie
 How To Make Gerninator.
 "A good germinator is made by us ing two pie tins or dinner plates Fill one with sand sawdust, or soil Place B clean cloth on this and spread the kernels out to be germinated Place a second cloth over the seeds and wet down Then inyert the second pie tin or dinner plate over the first so as to make a moist chamber within Keep moist in warm place
 Six days is sufficient time to al low for examination. Seed germinating 20 to e3 per cent may be considered lair 94-97 good. and as-100 excellent Because of the shortage of farm labor t is of greatest importance that seed having a high examination. 9o per cent. be used to avoid the necessity of thick planting and subsequent thin hing. With seed germinating 90 per cent or less. 1t would seem best either to make an individual ear test or 10 obtain new seed having a higher ger mination