The Dillon herald. [volume] (Dillon, S.C.) 1894-????, 1919-12-04
BEST WAY TO BEAT
MEXICAN BOIL WEEV|L
FERTILIZE WELL, CULTIVATE
FAST AND SPACE CLOSE.
Essentials Which Have Been Proved
Effective by Experience in All
Boil Weevil States.
The Progressive Farmer says.

important COLtOn SEOWluS otdlcj
having this fall established itself Ia
the Carolinas. Moreover, in nearly
all sections where the weeyil has
been present this year, the damage
has been exceptionally heavy, IN
some cases running as high as 80 or
even 90 per cent. Damage has been
severe in Texas, where the weevn
has been for many years and where
the seasons are favorable for the
weeyil it appears that tho pest will
always be On hand to take a goodly
share of the cotton crop. In other
words, the weevil is with us appar-.
emily for an indefinite stay, and If
we would make cotton, the sooner
we learn the essentials in doing So,
the better for us The following rec
concentrations are based on ten
years. study of this pest, plas years
of actual cotton growing under Wee
vii conditions. We place these es-
sentials in the order Of their impor-
tance:
I.-Plant ON Rich Land, or Ferti-
lie Literally.
Beyond all question, rich land is.
of first importance in making cotton
despite the weevil. Our rich valley
and river lands are usually strong
enough to make good cotton despite
the weevil, IL they are well drained.
But even on these richer soils, fifty
to seventy-five pounds per acre Of
nitrate CT soda at planting time to
push the crop off rapidly will gener-
ally pay we'll.
On our thinner lands, fertilizers
should be used heavily if cotton is to
be grown at profit. On such thin
lands, If they have. a good clay subt
soil, we would recommend eco
pounds per acre of nitrate of soda
and 800 to 400 pounds per acre Of
acid phosphate ali applied at plant
ing time. On soils with good clay
subsoil, potash probably will not be
needed, and the tight subsoil, pre-
vents any material teaching out of
the nitrate. On deep sandy sells,
100 to $50 pounds per acre Of kainit
or its equivalent should be used to
supply the potash needed, and since
teaching Is likely on such soils, 1t
will be best to use one-third or one
half the nitrate at planting time,
using the remainder as side appli-
cation the latter part of May or ear
ly in June. Where 1t can be had at
less cost per pound of nitrogen,
sulphate of ammonia may be used in
place of nitrate of soda.
The applications recommended
may appear somewhat heavy, but ON
our average thin sandy and loamy
soils we have good evidence that they
are highly profitable.
HMPractice Fast Shallow Guilt
walton.
The object Of the heavy fertiliza-
ton above recommended, of course,
is to push the cotton so that it will
make fair crop ahead of the wee
vii; but if it is to be pushed to its
utmost, rapid, shallow cultivation is
scarcely less important than liberal
fertilization. 1t is hard to lay down
any set rules for cultivating any
crop, because methods must be va
Iried to suit seasonal conditions. But
the aim should be to stir the soil
early in the season. SO as to kill all
grass and weeds before they get
hold. Later. civilizations should be.
frequent and shallow, and grass and
weeds should at all times be kept
down. Ordinarily the clean, well
cotton field has good chance to-
make crop despite the weeyil.
H.-Space Cotton Closely
The old advice to space wide to,
let in the sunlight" has been proved
worse than useless. Experiments
all the way from Texas to Georgia,
on pretty nearly every kind and
grade of soil, have proved that close
spacing uniformly gets the biggest,
yields. Generally, rows three feet
wide and the cotton a hoes width
in the drill will be best. We 4doub19
If under any conditions rows should
be wider than three and one half\
feet. This may seem like close spac-
ing, but we have abundant evidence
to prove that it results in bigger
yields of cotton. Poor stands Of
cotton, in our opinion, are very
largely responsible for our low
yields per acre. Let "three-foot rows,
and a hoes width in the drill' be-
the aim.
The three points named above we
consider of vital importance in maxi
ing cotton despite the weevil, COM
ing far ahead of the matter of varie-
ties, picking weevils and squares, or
poisoning. All these combined may
not, in a year like this has been, re-
suit in a paying crop of cotton; but
they will come nearer to doing so
than any other methods, and in av-
erage years they will result in profit
able crops. in most sections Of the
cotton belt.