The Nevada County picayune. (Prescott, Ark.) 190?-current, 1919-05-22
CULTIVATION IS AN
IMPORTANT FACTOR
Proper Preparation and Machinery
Help in Race With Weed,
Sun and Wind.

hACulneiy, AGRICULTURAL Extension |
Division.
Under favorable conditions about |
three days after corn has been plant |
ed, one can trace the rows across the |
field by the tiny green sprouts that |
are just coming through the ground. |
The weeds will also be on the job In |
a very short time and battle will |
begin to see whether the sun, wind |
weeds or corn get the most moisture. |
The wise farmer will have prepared |
a deep, we'll pulveriZed, firm seed bed |
In anticipation of adverse weather |
conditions and this will be a great |
boost for the tiny corn and cotton |
plants. In fact, good seed bed Is |
the foundation for proper cultivation |
work. Then comes cultivation that |
the maximum yields may be obtained |
at harvest time. Many factors that |
the farmer may control If he will |
enter into this young water between
corn and cotton on one hand and the
weeds, soil and elements on the |
other.
We cultivate to kill weeds, to aer-
ate the soil, and to conserve moisture
during the early stages of growth. |
AS the corn gets older the roots more
completely fill the soil, tending to
prevent the evaporation of moisture
because the surface soil is so COM
pletely filled with tiny roots that 1t
Is questionable whether an apprecia-
Bile amount of evaporation takes place |
in soils in good fertile condition with
almost mature corn to reduce the |
yield seriously, but unfortunately |
most of the soils of this state are
low in organic matter and if pro-
longed cultivation will increase the |
yield per acre, he Is a wise man who |
raises the few extra bushels of corn
per acre rather than having TO pur-
chase it later on.
Little data is available for Arkan-
sas conditions to show the value or
cultivating corn and cotton against |
non-cultiyating. bat experience has |
taught us that unless the weeds are |
kept down and a mulch on the sur
face to preserve moisture that the |
WELD will not pay for labor expended. |
Type of Cultivation.
The kind of cultivation may DE
summed up in one word-Surface |
Not so much depends on the greater |
acreage planted for a greater yield, |
but on better cultivation of that that |
mas been planted 1t is estimated |
that nearly threefourths of the roots
are in the plowed portion of the soil |
AS an experiment, let the farmer
take a bucket of water and spray |
pump to the cornfield. spray the dirt |
away from the corn roots and nCte !
how they ramify through the surface
soil In rows of average width, with |
corn three feet high, the soil in the
rows and between the rows will prac-
tically be filled with corn roots. On |
soils low in organic matter, with q
shallow seed bed we find a large mass
of the roots very near the surface, IN |
fact, Just under the crust. Bearing
in mind the above. and bearing in |
mind that the plant gets its food
through these many roots. then II Is
necessary to avoid those types of i'm
plements and that practice that will
destroy corn or cotton roots.
Corn should rarely be cultivated
with a shovel cultlvator before the
first two leaves are out. For first cui-
tiyation a section harrow or weeder
is excellent, breaking up the crust
and killing millions of tiny weeds.
Using the section harrow twice or
three times often proves profitable.
Sometimes the Gee-Whizz or diverse
eultivator is used instead of the has-
row. but the main objection to this
Is that too much time is wasted
when the ground should be gotten
over quite rapidly. At all times the
crust should be kept broken to pre-
vent evaporation of moisture. The
shovel cultivator for the first cultiva-
lion gives excellent results because
AZ that time the soil probably has
become packed. The small roots may
easier work their way through the
ground when the shovels have loosen
ed il not deeper than four inches,
Tenders supplied with the cultivators
enable one to avoid covering the
young plants.
The second cultivation should be
more shallow: IL the shpels are used
set them for ordinary conditions. so
they do not penetrate more than
. l-2 TO inches. For subsequent Gull
tiyations, sweeps OF the buzzard wing
type, gopher blades correctly set or
spring tooth attachments are exce+
lent il adjusted so they cut the weeds
off an inch to one-and-a-half inches
below the surface and allow mulch
to be formed over every part OF the
row. No bare middles should be left.
Large solid sweeps are Objectionable
because they do leave a bare, hard
streak down the center OF the rows.