Smyrna times., 1928-01-11
FARMERS DERIVE BENEFIT
Seed Corn Treatment Demonstrations
Shows Results in Greater Yields

y
growers in Kent County and through
out the state have been experiencing
trouble with the corn root rot and 9th
er diseases which are carried on the
seed, and which not only reduce the
yield very materially, but cause
considerable amount of inferior grade
corn at harvest time, and in view of
this situation some Unconstitutional
work was started by County Agent
Russell E. Wilson in cooperation with
DR.. j. F. Adams, Plant Pathologist
of the University of Delaware and the
State Board of Agriculture, on num-
ger of farms in this county to show
that this disease could be controlled
to a great extent by discarding all
diseased ears bymeans Of the germin-
alton test, and the treatment of the
seed with certain dust disinfectants.
AS continuance Of the project
which was begun in Kent County in
the spring of 1926 to demonstrate the
effect Of treating seed corn with a
dust disinfectant known as Semesan,
Jr., similar demonstrations were con-
Quoted this past year on the farms of
John w. Vane, near Smyrna; J. A.
Sylvester, near Clayton; John G. Tar
burton, east of Dover; p. G. Kirby,
northeast of Milford; and Clearence
Person, near Frederick
Each of these five farmers was fur
nished with three ounces Of this dust
material which was a sufficient guam
tity to treat one bushel Of shelled corn
or enough seed to plant between five
and six acres, and each cooperator
was instructed to plant this treated
seed separately with the remainder of
the field serving as a check area in
which was used the untreated corn.
Observations of these demonstra-
tional plots during the growing sea
son seemed to indicate that in most
cases the treated seed apparently ger
minated a little quicker, and the
young corn plants made better start
in growth in the early spring than
did the corn in the portion of the field
in which the untreated seed was used.
As a supplementary phase of this
project sample of seed corn was Sc
cured from each of these farms and
taken to the seed laboratory of the
State Board of Agriculture in Dover
for the termination test, and the av-
erage test of these five samples was
SO percent, which was a true indica-
ton Of the average condition Of seed
corn in the county last spng.
The corn in four Of these plots was
harvested during the latter part of
November, and comparative yields of
both the treated and untreated were
obtained in each field. Due to the
lateness in harvesting the corn on the
farm of Clarence Pearson, however,
it was impossible to secure the COM
parative yields from this particular
demonstration, but some very inter
esting records were obtained from
each Of the other four farms on which
this work was conducted
On the farm of John W. Vane, the
treated seed yielded 58.2 bushels to
the acre, and the untreated corn pro
duced 52.3 bushels, resulting in an in
crease Of SO bushels. The treated
seed not oily gave a greater yield per
acre, but there was a higher percent
age of mature and disease-free corn
in this plot than in the untreated part
of the field Mr.. Vane was so well
pleased with the results of this dem
onstration that he is planning to treat
all Of his seed corn this coming spring
leaving only a small area in one of
his fields to be planted with the IN
treated seed as a check plot from
which to secure comparative yields.
The difference in yields from the
untreated and treated plots on the
farm Of J. A. Sylvester was not as
pronounced as it was on the Vane
farm, as the treated seed produced
54.5 bushels per acre, and the untreat-
ed corn yielded SO bushels, making an
increase of only is bushels to the
acre.
In checking up the yields from the
two plots on the farm of John G. Tar
burton it was found that the treated
seed gave a yield Of 699 bushels per
acre, AZ compared to 66.1 bushels
from the untreated portion Of the
field. This difference Of 3.8 bushels
per acre more closely resembles the
results obtained on the Vane farm
than those secured from the demon
stration of the Sylvester farm, and
upon examining the corn from these
two plots it was also observed that
the ears from the treated area were
more solid and there was less soft
and immature corn than in the re-
mainder of the field which was plant
ed with the untreated seed.
The demonstration on the farm Of
p. C. Kirby also showed some very
interesting results, although the idf-
ference in yield was not a great as
was the case in some Of the other
plots in the county. The treated
oo,., nroducad 5O hushels To the acre