Arizona republican., 1921-03-11
NOTED EXPERT ON COTTON TELLS IF
 VOLUNTEER GROWTH

Dr. o. F. Cook, perhaps the greatest authority on agronomrc features of cotton culture in the world, who has made an intimate study of cotton pro- uueuon in the cotton regions of the ohlted States, Egypt, China and sev- erai other less important cotton-pro- oucing countries, and who is one of the men of the United States depart ment of agriculture who founded the American Egyptian cotton industry when asked for a statement on the feasibility of volunteering cotton, is sued the following statement:
 From present indications, a large acreage of cotton in the Salt River val Icy will be left unplowed, to sprout asaIn rom last years plants, or vol Inteer, as the saying is, though this word has more general application To chance seedlings, which are are one or the difficulties in maintaining pure varieties of cotton> Stub or stubble cotton, cepa cotton and rattoon cotton are other names that are applied to over-w -wintered plants in Texas and elsewhere
 What can be expected from hold over cotton, and how it should be treated to get the best results are questions now being asked by many farmers in the Salt River valley who
 
 Not much in the way of definite in formation Is available, but few facts have been observed that may be of use in the present emergency, or that may throw light on the behavior of the hold-over cotton in the coming season.
 Farmers have been advised in former years not to hold their cotton over on account of several serious diff faculties or disadvantages that gener- ally make the second year cotton less desirable than regularly planted fields. Nevertheless, it is a mistake to sup pose that the second-growth sprouts from over-wintered roots are always or necessarily inferior to the first sea son plants, either in yield or in quality of fiber. Indeed, there are some con- ditions, as in the coast belt of Cali fornia, where larger crops are secured in the second and third seasons than in the first with no indication of the quality being impaired. In tropical countries many long-lived varieties of cotton are grown, the most important perennial cultivation being in hot irri- gated valleys in northern Peru. But in most of the tropical countries peren- nial cultivations are difficult to main tain on any large scale of production, after the insect pests and plant diseases have assembled in force
 One reason why hold over cotton Is likely to be inferior in the Salt River valley or in the Imperial valley, Is that Towering and fruiting may begin very early in the season, even before midsummer, so that the young bolls are exposed to the most extreme con ditions. As a result, the quality oi the fiber is likely to be impaired, either before or after the opening of the bo1ls If the bolls are dwarfed or forced open prematureIy by very dry or hot weather the fiber does not have the full length or strength. and even if normal fiber is produced, there may be serious diff ficulty in getting the cotton picked during the extreme hot weather oi summer. Long exposure in the field weakens or discolors the fiber, or much of the early cotton may be lost by falling out of the open bolIs.
 Normal cultivation and irrigation are more difficult to maintain with hold-over cotton, not only because the season is longer. but also because the space between the rows is soon occu- pied by the new shoots, which grow from lateral buds of the old 'stumps and often fail to stand upright. Witt cultivation neglected, or stopped yer, early to avoid too much breakage o