Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1919-12-23
Cotton Soils and Fertilizers

Cotton Soils and Fertilizers
Cotton is grown on several million
acres of land in Georgia each year.
What are the types of soil best
adapted for it's cultivation? What
are their peculiarities? How may
they be readily identified? What
amount of plant food do they con-
tain? How should they be cultivated
and fertilized in order to make the
| largest return to the farmer? These
are pertinent questions at the prGS":l
| time because their proper answer
| will determine in a large measure the
amount of cotton harvested from
| the land devoted to this crop this
year
A survey of the soil provinces of
Georgia indicates that there are ten
predominating types of soil on which
cotton is more or less extensively
| cultivated. In northwest Georges I
good deal of cotton is grown on what
| is known rs the Gainesville Sa1l'.t'
| loan. This soil out-crops extensive
| ly in that section of the state. 1t
is a gray, gravelly soil 1t is not
especially rich in either nitrogen or
phosphoric acid, but contains a large
amount of potash.
Cotton Soils
The Cecil clay loan and the Cecil
sandy loan are the two types of land
chiefly devoted to cotton in parts of
middle and practically all of north
Georgia. This is particularly true
of the northeastern section of the
state. The Cecil clay loan is famil-
lar to us as the red land of north
Georgia. The Cecil sandy loan may
have a more or less gray appearance
| on the surface, depending upon the
amount of sand it contains. These
are both good, strong soils, and yield
a relatively large crop of cotton. The
Cecil clay is the richer Of the two,
as a rule, especially in nitrogen.
These soils contain as much of all
the essential elements of plant food
as any types found within the state.
They are, however, no better adapted
for the cultivation Of cotton than
some other lands which occur ex-
tensively in Georgia.
Appling coarse sandy loan is a soil
relatively low in nitrogen and phos-
phoric acid, though it often runs very
high in potash. 1t is distinguished
from many other of our soil types
yellow subsoil. 1t will require heav-
Ter fertilization, as a rule than the
other types mentioned This is like
| ly to be especially true with refer
ence to the elements, nitrogen al"
| phosphoric acid. %
The Greenville clay loan and the
| Greenville sandy loan are two of our
| well-known soil types. The Greco
| villa rodJ nm NOV he GROW m, "a
surface to some extent, but it has a
| red subsoil. The first type is the
richer in the possession Of essential
plant food elements. These two
types represent some of our most de-
sirable lands.
Chemical Elements Analysed
| The Orangeburg sandy loan, rec
ognized locally as brown, pebbly
land and the Norfolk sandy loam
gray in color, are two valuable types
| OF land for cotton production. They
contain less phosphoric acid, as a
rule, than the soils previously men
| toned, though they approximate the
Cecil clays in the amount of nitro
| gen they contain. AS a rule, the con.
| tent of potash is much lower than
in the clays of the Cecil types. In
south Georgia there are extensive
out-croppings on the Kalania sandy
loan, a second bottom land charac
ter1zed by a yellow subsoil This
type of land is low in nitrogen and
| phosphoric acid though relatively
we'll supplied with potash.
In the table below is presented
some data relative to our principal
cotton soil types. OF course only
ten of the most important have been
selected out for discussion. The
total amount of nitrogen, phosphoric
acid and potash possessed by each
Of these soil types is shown. The
| figures represent the amount of
| nitrogen to a depth Of twenty-one
| inches over the surface CT an acre
| TWenty-one inches have been select
ed because plants feed chiefly in
this area. of the soil. AS a matte
| of fact, they feed far more extern
| stvely nearer the surface of the
ground than in the lower soil areas
AS a rule, plants will therefore
derive and utilize most of the plan;
food that is assimilated from IN
area of the soil less than twenty
ne inches deep. The figures indi-
cate the total store of plant food in
The soil types mentioned. In other
words, they represent the gross
amounts Of nitrogen. phi osphortc
acid and potash possessed by the
and as revealed through the agency
Of a chemical analysis. It is note
worthy that the composition of these
soils varies materially, and no set
formula for their fertilization can be
presented. To handle them intel
| ligently, one must know something
about their composition and ply
| steal characteristics. Thus have
been prescribed the formulas which
are most likely to prove beneficial
when used in association w III the
several types of soil under discus
sion.