The Wilmington morning star., 1940-01-29
TOBACCO ECONOMY
URGED BY WEEKS
Specialist Says Farmers
Should Start E~conomizing
In The Plant Bed

To be profitable this year, to-
bacco must be produced economi-
cally. L. T. Weeks, Extension to-
bacco specialist of State college,
SAYS the place to start economizing
is in the plant bed. There is such
a thing as false economy; for i'll
stance, growing less plants than
are required. True economy con-
sists of producing healthy plants
and preparing for disease out
breaks should they occur.
In the first place, Weeks advises
that where practical and possible,
a new site should be selected each
year for the tobacco plant bed. Or,
at least a four-year rotation should
be followed for locating the bed.
The site should be we'll drained
with a southern or southwestern
exposure, the soil should be loamy,
and a source of water should e
nearby.
One hundred square yards Of bed
will normally produce from 10000
to Is, 900 plants. 1t is advisable to
have several small beds, widely
separated on the farm, rather than
to have one large bed. By doing
this, it gives a chance for some of
the beds to escape diseases and
other conditions that might be
detrimental to the plants.
All the debris, such as stumps
and roots, should be removed from
sites which are selected in or nea
a wooded area. The soil should be
pulverized finely by the use of i'm
PIGMENTS that are practical for the
farm to use, taking care not to
break the soil too deeply. Three to
four inches us usually sufficient,
Weeks advised.
Fertilization OF Bed
1t has been proven that under
normal conditions 200 pounds of
1873 mixture for each 100 square
ards of bed space, or two pounds
per square yard, will provide eX-
cellent fertilization. Fifty per c t
of the nitrogen used in this mix
ture should come from a water sol
liable source, such as nitrate Of
soda or sulphate of ammonia; and
so per cent from an organic source
such as ~cottonseed meal or dried
blood. The phosphate should all
come from superphosphate, and the
potash should all come from sui
phate of potash magnesia.
If a low grade of fertilizer is
used, the specialist recommends
that it be supplemented with so to
100 pounds of cottonseed meal,
mixing the meal thoroughly with
the soil. The fertilizer should be
broadcast on the beds and mixed
with the upper three or four
inches of soil. A light application
of n may be used, but it
should not contain tobacco leaves,
stalks or trash because there is a
possibility of infesting the new
bed with disease that might live
over on the old tobacco.
Usually a tablespoonful of re-
cleaned seed. to each 100 square
yards of bed space is sufficient to
give a uniform stand. The seed
should be mixed with cottonseed
meal, dry sand, ashes, or fertilizer
for sowing. An even stand is more
likely to be obtained if one-half of
the seed are sown in one direction
and the remaining seed sown across
the bed at right angles to the first
sowing.
Should Pack Bed
After the seed are sown, the bed
should be packed by running a
light roller over it, tamping it with
a board attached to the end of a
short pole, or by tamping it with
the feet. Rolling or tamping is
not recommended on stiff heavy
soils. A better stand will be OBJ
tanned in this type of soil the
seed are whipped in lightly with a
brush broom from some plant, such
as dogwood.
Weeks suggested that the plant
bed be built narrow to facilitate
covering with canvas if fumigation
to kill or prevent blue mold be-
comes necessary.
The State College Extension r
ice has recently revised it's cir
cular on blue mold control to con-
tain the latest information avail
able on the three recommen6e ed
methods Of attacking the dreaded