Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 269, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 November 1916 — GROW BUCKWHEAT [ARTICLE]

GROW BUCKWHEAT

Puts Soil In Fine Mellow Condition and Destroys Weeds—Adapted to Northern States Buckwheat is at present grown In this country, almost wholly In the s.ates east of the Mississippi river and north of the cotton belt. About seven tenths of the crop is sown in the two states, New York and ‘Pennsylvania, but is important in several oth tr states, principal among which are Michigan, West Virginia, Virginia, Wisconsin and Ohio. In the more northern states buckwheat can be sown over practically the entire area without reference ter- elevation, but farther south it is confined to the uplands and mountainous sections. Buckwheat should be sown on land prepared as for corn. It is an excellent crop to sow- where corn has been planted but where a stand has not been secured. Best results are obtained \uhero--the land is plowed early and is well prepared, but fairly good results can be ‘obtained by sowing immediate- 1 ,y after plowing and harrowing. Buckwheat should generally be seed ed at the rate of three or four pecks per acre. If the soil is fertile and a drill is used and the seed is of good vitality, as. little as 2 pecks may be suffici-i-t. As orach as 5 pecks are sometimes sown. It is best to use a grain drill, but this is not essential, as the seed can be broadcasted and harrowed in with satisfactory results. It should be sown from one fifth to an or two deep, depending on the condition of the soil. There is probably no other crop that will produce better on infertile poorly tilled lands than will buckwheat. It is well suited to light well drained soils, such as sandy loams, and to the silt loam soils. It needs but little lime, growing well in acid soils without lime, where alfalfa and red clover would not succeed. When the soil is poor, it is profitable to fertilize, but where good wheat or corn crops can be produced without fertilizer, it is not necessary for a buckwheat crop. On the poorest hill land a smalt - application of nitrogen phosphorus is advisable, but generally nitrogen is not needed. The plant responds very leadily to applications of phosphates, however. Low grade fertilizers containing , phosphorus and a small amount of potassium can be used to advantage on, the crop where the land is poor. w Three varieties of buckwheat are commonly grown in the United States, Japanese Silver Hull, and Common Grey, the first two being most generally used. Japanese has a large dark colored seed while the Silver Hull has j a smaller seed, glossy or silvery in appearance. These two varieties are ■ of about equal value, when yields are ! Considered. Buckwheat is very sensitive to cold . and is killed by tfie first heavy frost. j It fills best in cool weather, however, : and so the sowings are deferred to allow only time for the crop to mature before frost occurs. Under the most ■ favorable conditions a buckwheat crop will mature in 10 weeks, but thtUaven r age time is about twelve weeks. When seeded the last week in June or first week in July in New York and Pennsylvania and about a week earlier in Michigan arid Wisconsin it is most likely to escape injury from hot weather, whieh with drying winds and hot I nights causes the flowers to blast and ’ fail to produce seed. The seeding time • for any locality is determined fairly accurately by allowing it a period of 12 weeks for growth before the first Killing frost is expected. The farmer does not need expensive machinery for harvesting the buckwheat crop. An old fashioned cradle, i although it requires hard labor, does the harvesting well. The drop reaper, ; however, is one of-the most satisfac- ; tory machines for harvesting. Many j farmers use the ordinary binder, which practice is advisable where it can be ! followed. Cutting is begun as soon as rhe first lot of blossoms have disappeared, or often just before the first frost is expected. Buckwheat will ma- 1 ture jts seed in a few days, if after cut- I ting, the. crop is left in loose bundles where they are dropped from the cradle or reaper. It shpuld then be set , up in small shocks and tied near the 1 top with some slr«u+d&_J|£ the straw bent upward from the sides of the "TTiock. The cut buekwhoM is usually; left in the field in the smscks until ■hreshing time, when it is drawn In i and threshed either With the frail or by machinery. 'The farmer need generally have no I fear of this crop being damaged by either insect enemies or fungous diseases, as the buckwheat plant is but little affected by either of those. It is an excellent crop for destroying weeds and for renovating and putting the soil in fine mellow condition.