Evening Republican, Volume 59, Number 97, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 May 1917 — CORN DEPENDS UPON CULTIVATION [ARTICLE]

CORN DEPENDS UPON CULTIVATION

Christie Article On How to Get Large Yield Looks Ahead Two ~— Weeks. Within the next two weeks most of the Indiana corn crop will be planted, and from that time on cultivation is the only factor within the control of the farmer that can greatly affect the com yield. Mistakes in cultivation, however, may cause losses of from two to ten bushels per acre, resulting in the aggregate in a tremendous the feed supply of the state. Shallow cultivation should be the rule after the com is eight inches high, although it will orobably pay sometimes to cultivate rather deeply the first time if the soil has been beaten -down by heavy rains. When com gets this high the roots have covered the space between the rows, and since they take most of the moisture that rises from the lower soil, deep cultivation causes more loss by breaking roots than can be offset by saving moisture. In dry seasons the loss may be very heavy. Purdue experiments have shown that com receiving no cultivation except the removal of the weeds by shallow scraping with a hoe produced -three bushels more per acre where the weeds were kept down by ordinary shallow cultivation. Weeds always reduce yields more than is realized. As the com acreage of Indiana is above the average and labor is scarce, the harrow and weeder should oe used more extensiveb 7 than usual for early cultivation of com, unless the surface has been beaten down by rains. , ~ Weeds are easily killed while small and a harrow will kill weeds almost as well as a cultivator at this stage and at the same time cover from two to three times as much and per man and per horse in a day. Since the killing of weeds is the principal ob-ject-of cultivation and a heavy ram may give them a start that can never be overcome, the importance of getting over the entire field when they are just starting is seen to be very great. Whenever weeds appear or a crust forms, com should be cultivated. These factors only should determine the frequency of working. Six cultivations have given the largest yields at Purdue. The work should preferably continue until the com is in tassel, though particular care must be exercised in' the latter cultivation not to dig into the root systems. Ver-.’ shallow cultivation is best during the late season. v The small shovels and the horizontal knife -give better results, but any of the modem cultivators will give good results is properly handled.