Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-05-17
FERTILIZERS FOR PEANUTS

1t is not advisable to use large
quantities of stable manure for pea
nuts on account of the fact that it
is liable to produce too much vine.
The best fertilizer for this crop is
one containing a high percentage Of
acid phosphate The acid phosphate
furnishes phosphorus and at the
same time a form of lime that is
particularly we'll suited to peanuts,
that is, sulphate of lime. Lack of
lime will cause a large percentage
Of pops" that is, shells without
nuts. Potash is also important The
following formula for peanuts is
recommended:
Eight to II per cent available
phosphoric acid; 2 per cent ammonia,
and TO / per cent potash.
This should be applied at the rate
of 500 to 500 pounds per acre. If
the soil is, sour, an application of l.
900 pounds of ground limestone per
acre will be helpful. If the soil
will not be necessary to apply lime
stone. The peanut being a legume,
is. we'll drained, however, and good
gathers some nitrogen from the air
like cowpeas, but not in sufficient
quantities for the plants full needs,
hence some ammonia must be used
in the fertilizer.
Fertilizers for Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes respond readily to
applications of fertilizers, giving in
creases that Justify applications of
500 to 1000 pounds per acre. Where
manure is obtainable three to four
tons per acre will benefit the soil
but large applications will tend to
the tuber. Manure alone does not
provide a complete ration of plant
food. Any fertilizer that will make
the soil comparatively high in nitro
gen will have the same effect as the
manure in growing too much vine.
1t seems that potatoes must have
more of readily available potash in
the soil than general field crops.
probably for the elaboration of the
large store of starch in the tuberS.
During the war-shortage of pot
ash it was revealed however that
potatoes did we'll without applying
as large amounts of potash as had
previously been considered neces-
sary Recent experiments of the
Alabama station confirm this fact.
PhosphOric acid in it's readily
available form plays an important
role in a successful feeding of the
plants.
The formula for the three elements
of plant food, now considered suit
able, in sweet potato production are
9-3-4 for coastal plain soils and 9-2-3
for Piedmont soils. Local variations
of the soil may, of course, change
these formulas slightly.
The results obtained by the GeOr-
gia experiment station for an aver
age of five years, are embodied in
this quotation from Bulletin 107:
The complete fertilizer gave the
highest average yield of potatoes;
The potatoes were of good quality"
Similar results have been obtained by
oother investigators.
Fertilizers for Soybeans and Cowpeas
On practically an soils in the cot
ton section it will be necessary to
use fertilizer to get the most salts
factory and profitable growth of soy
beans and cowpeas. However, since
these are legume crops, it Will be
necessary to use but little, if any,
nitrogen in fertilizing them if the
land is properly inoculated. On poor
soils, however, a fertilizer carrying
a small amount of nitrogen will be
profitable because this promotes early
growth and enables the plants to de-
veIOp more rapidly and vigorously.
Under such conditions a fertilizer
carrying per cent t0\2 IL per cent
ullIOSeHL Will De SulIICl0Ill.
On soils containing fairly good
amount Of organic matter, and where
the stalk growth of such crops is
usually good. it Will be necessary to
add materials containing only phos-
phoric acid and potash. 1t VIII be
profitable, ordinarily, to use a fer
tilizer carrying 9 per cent or ~ per
cent phosphoric acid, and , per cent
or 4 per cent potash on sandy and
other soils which generally respond
to applications of these plant foods
On the heavier soils, especially those
which contain q fairly good amount
Of potash, it will not ordinarily be
necessary to supply any commercial
form of potash for these crops I'M
less one knows from previous crops
that applications of this material re-
spond. and can be used proftably.
If fertilizers are used at the rate
of 200 to 400 pounds per acre, they
should be applied preferably in the
soil previous to planting Amounts