The Wilmington morning star., 1940-03-18
GOOD FERTILIZER
PAYS DIVIDENDS
Results Of Cotton Expert
ments Are Given BY Prof.
C.. B. Williams

viii it pay me to use a good eerti.
llzef In growing cotton%"
Prof. c. B. Williams, head of the
State College Agronomy depart
ment, supplies the answer on the
basis Of Investigations by the North
Carolina Agriculture Experiment
station over a long period of years.
The answer is "yes'' where cotton
IS grown on built-up soil types, such
as Marlboro sandy loan Greenvi,le
sandy loan, Norfolk sandy loan,
Davidson clay loan, Ruston sandy
loan, and Cecil fine sandy loan.
Net profits averaging s2s.5s per
acre were obtained in experiments
conducted on IS fields g in the
Coastal Plain and 4 In the Pied.
mo-4t) when good fertilizer was used
and seed cotton was selling 5 cents
per pound, Prof. Williams reported.
Eleven soil types we're embraced in
the 13 fields.
Fairly Good Profits
The present prices for seed and
lint are about equal to 4 cents for
seed cotton, which would afford
fairly good net profits per acre" he
continued. "As an average of five
years OF experiments on four types
OF soil in the Coastal Plain. a well.
suited fertilizer mixture gave an
increase of 241 pounds of seed cot
ton per acre over the yield when
the old 1913 mixture was used. This
increase, at four cents per pound.
was worth 1854 per acre at an ex.
ira cost Of only s1.2O per acre for
the better-suited fertilizer mixture"
The agronomist also mentioned
the important factor of speeding the
date Of maturity with w%ell.propor.
toned fertilizers. This is especial
~ Important he declared, where
cotton tends to grow too late in The
fall, or where heavy infestation
from boil weevil is likely to occur
in some years. In experiments for
six years in Edgecombe county, it
was found that the use of 42O
pounds OF a 8.6-10-3.6 fertilizer mix
ture increased the yield of the total
crop open at the first picking IS
per cent over plots where no ferti-
lizer was used"
/ The recommendations of the de-.
partment of agronomy of the col.
lege on cotton fertilization are as
follows: Use from 400 to 900 pounds
per acre o. a 4-8-4 mixture on sandy
and sandy loan soil in the Coastal
Plain, h larger amount being used
on the poorer and very sandy soils.
On h heavier soils, in the eastern
part Of the state, especially the
northeastern section, use 400 to $50
pounds of 4-10-4 mixture per acre.
| For Piedmont soils in average
condition, apply from 400 to 900
pounds per acre of a 4-10-4 mixture
in the drill at planting. Where heavy
crops Of legumes have been grown
and turned under the previous year,
OF where heavy applications of ma
nure have been made, the percent
ags Of nitrogen in the mixture may
be REDUCED by so per cent or more.
Can Increase Potash
Where the AGILITY Of the soil is
low naturally, or this condition has
been brought about by heavy appli-
cation of lime, and where legumes
such as peanuts, alfalfa, and red
clover, have been removed from the
land for some time. it is recon-
mended that the potash in the mix
lures be increased to s or 8 per
cent. In extreme ases of potash de-
ficiency, the potash should. be in
creased to 10 or IL per cent, or else
the additional potash should be SUP.
piled BY making a side application
of a potash salt, such as kainit or
muriate, after the cotton has be.
come we'll established.
Summarizing the results of ex.
periments to show the value of good
cotton fertilization, Prof. Williams
reported: AS an average of results
obtained on six soil types in the
Coastal Plain, good fertilization
(the use of the aforementioned mix
tures) increased the yield of seed
cotton per acre 2.1S times over what
was obtained without fertilizer
treatment. On four soil types in the
Piedmont section, practical fertili-
cation increased the yield 2.66 times,
the increase varying from 720
pounds on Davidson clay loan to
800 pounds on Appling sandy .oam.
On an average, the Coastal Plain
soils were 10 per cent more produc-
tive naturally than the Piedmont
soils.
Finally, Prof. Williams said:
This appears to be the year when
farmers should plant their full al
lotted acres Of cotton, with the very
best adapted seed and the analysis
and amounts of fertilizers that will
give. the largest net returns per acre
for their respective Soils"