Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 236, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 October 1918 — SELECTING SEED CORN IN AUTUMN [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

SELECTING SEED CORN IN AUTUMN

Tremendous Loss to Farmers and Country Due to Planting of Inferior Seed - ■ FIRST CLASS REQUIREMENTS Ears Taken From Highest-Yielding Rows Produce Better Than Those Taken From Poorer-Yielding Rows—Test Each Ear. (Prepared by the United States Department of Agriculture.) There is each spring a scarcity of good seed corn. This condition is all the more regrettable, because it need not exist; and it is much more serious than commonly supposed, because many do not realize fully the tremendous loss to themselves and the country due to the planting of inferior seed. A full stand of plants may be obtained from inferior seed, but the yield will not be the best possible. The loss is due to delay or negligence. It can be prevented by the selection of seed corn in the autumn. , ? M To be first class, seed niust be: 1. Of .a variety well adapted to the seasonal and soil conditions where it is to be planted. 2. Grown on productive plants of a productive variety, showing all the desirable characteristics. 3. Well matured, and preserved from ripening time till planting time in such a manner as to retain its full vigor. Three Important Requirements. The importance of the three requirements just enumerated has been dem-

onstrated experimentally. The results of the tests, given briefly, are as follows: 1. For a series of five years, 12 varieties were tested in ten Northern states, equivalent lots of seed being used in each state. Varieties that produced most in some states were among the poorest in others. 2. Seed ears taken from the highestyielding rows of ear-to-row breeding plats fiave repeatedly produced better than seed ears taken from pooreryielding rows. Seed ears from the bestproducing stalks found in a general field produced more than seed ears taken without considering the productiveness of the parent stalks. As the result of selection work of this kind, average acre yields on some farms have been increased 18 per cent in a decade.

3. Four bushels of ears were divided into two equal parts, one part being well taken care of and the other placed In a barn as corn is ordinarily cribbed. The well-preserved seed gave a yield on poor soil 12 per cent higher than the poorly-preserved and 27 per cent higher on fertile soil, notwithstanding the fact that both lots of seed germinated equally well. Prevention Is Best. Seed corn that matures normally, and has been preserved-properly will grow satisfactorily. It Is very poor management to neglect proper preservation and then spend time in the spring separating by germination tests those ears that have been badly damaged from those that have been slightly damaged. Prevention is better than cure, and in this case a cure is impossible. If it is found necessary to plant seed the vitality of which is at all doubtful, each ear should be tested separately and only those planted which germinate perfectly. If the only seed available for planting is Inferior In quality and vitality, it should be planted thick in order to counterbalance imperfect germination and to approximate perfect stands. Poor stands are a frequent source of poor yields. In nearly every locality good farmers usually, agree regarding the stand that approximates the optimum for normal soil and seasonal conditions. Stands markedly inferior to the optimum give an increase In size of ears, but a decrease in total yield. Loss may be sustained from too thick a stand, which causes a decrease in size of ears and in total yields. Prepare In Fall. Autumn is the time to prepare for a profitable corn crop the following sea-

son. Dropping all other business at corn-ripening time and selecting, drying and storing at least enough seed to meet the requirements of two years* planting will insure a seed supply for the second succeeding year in the event of crop failure the first year. Selecting seed corn requires the corn grower’s entire attention. If he will get the very best that is to be had and preserve it well,.his increased yields will return him more profit than any other work he can do on his farm. In 13 years’ investigations conducted upon Scioto river bottom soil near Piketon, 0., with Woodburn White Dent, United States selection 77, the yield was raised from an average of 63 bushels of dry shelled corn for the period from 1901 to 1907 to an average of 75 bushels for the period from 1907 to 1913. The principal Influence producing this increase in yield was the selection and care of seed corn. Ears to Select. As soon as the crop ripens, the first step is to go through the field with seed-picking bags, and husk the ears from the stalks that have produced the most corn without having had any special advantages as to space, moisture or fertility. The large ears on stalks standing singly with an unusual amount of space around them should be avoided. Preference should be given the plants that have produced most heavily in competition ■ with a full stand of less productive plants. In all localities the inherent tendency of the plant to produce heavily of sound, dry, shelled corn is of most importance. The same day seed com is gathered the husked ears should be put in a dry place with a free circulation of air and placed in such position that the ears do not touch each other. This is the only safe procedure. Good seed is repeatedly ruined because of the belief that it is already dry enough when gathered and that the precaution mentioned above is unnecessary. In localities where weevils and grain moths injure stored grain, the thoroughly dry ears should be stored in very tight mouse-proof receptacles, with one pound of moth balls or naphthalene inclosed for each bushel of corn. This quantity tightly inclosed with the corn will prevent damage from these Insects and will not injure the seed.

A Happy Corn Club Boy With a Bushel of Selected Seed.