The progressive farmer and southern farm gazette., March 12, 1910, CORN SPECIAL, Page 181, Image 5

About The progressive farmer and southern farm gazette. (Starkville, Miss.) 1910-1920

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HOW TO FERTILIZE CORN LAND.'
The Great Need Is Humus and the Ilest Use of Fertilizers is
to Promote the Growth of Nitrogen-Gathering, Humus-Making
t?n)p*_Peculiar Moisture Needs of Corn—Formula for Ordi
nary Soils in This and Adjoining States.
ORN Id A RICH laud plant.
It responds readily and profit
ably to organic fertilisers ricb
iu nitrogen, sucb as stable manure
aud decaying vegetable matter, from
tbe legumes. Its response to appli
cations of commercial or mineral fer
tilisers is not so marked nor so gen
erally profitable.
Tbe corn plant is a rank and rapid
grower, producing large quantities
of dry matter per acre, aud to do Lbls
must of necessity use large quali
ties of water.
Why Decaying Vegetable Matter
Helps t>o Much.
This fact probably repeals why
stable rnauuro and decaying legumes,
or other orgauic matter, so largely
iucrease the yield ut corn, ihese add
plaul foods, but incur beneficial ef
fects on tbo corn plant is probably
more especially uue to auotner fact,
which is loo ofteu overlooked by the
corn growers of me doulh. They so
change and improto mu mocuuuicai
condition of tbe soil that it is able to
hold more water to supply me large
and constant needs oi me plant, and
in supplying this large quantity of
water there is also supplied the
moans of carrying iulo the piaut tor
its growth, the targe quantities of
plant foods which are required to
produce large yield* of corn.
In fertilising corn, therefore, three
Uiings are especially required: (1)
humus, (2) water, aud (2) plant
food*. Tne humus will enable the
■oil to bold the water required and
when this humu* come* from stable
manuro or decaying legumes, it will
also supply the large amount of nl*
irogen required by corn for ila beat
growth. Other plant foods besides
nitrogen may be necessary, but of
Ur*i importance is bumua if this
humu* be supplied through stable
manure and legumes, so much the
belter, for It will then supply the
second great need of the corn plant,
nitrogen. The right sort of humus,
then. Will obtain the two greatest
needs of the corn plaul, water and !
nitrogen, lu short, how to fertilise
(lie corn crop is pretty nearly told in
the one word, humus.
Why Drouth Hurts Corn Ho lladly.
A Urge, vigorous and rapidly
growing plant like corn must have
an abundant supply of water, aud If
there be a deficiency of this for any
appreciable length of time, the yield
must suffer. A slower and longor
growing plant llko cotton, for in
stance. may be deprived of water
and other suitable conditions for Ha
h* t growth, for a much longer time
without so groat permanent injury.
This has beeu observed In the won
derful recuperative powers of the
cotton plant after periods unsulled
to Its growth. Corn ha* no *uch
"come out" to It, and If deprived of
adequate supply of water, or If It la
otherwise checked In It* growth for
any appreciable length of time, the
Injury la great and permanent. This
Is specially noticeable on rather poor
lauds; but less so on rich lunds,
where It Is difficult to "Blunt," or
ctu*ck the growth of corn under any
thing like suitable weather condi
tions.
How to I'ltt Commercial Fertilisers
In Corn Crowing.
The best way, therefore, of fertil
izing corn land Is through a proper
* ThU article wee i»rtn>»r«d a* No 3 In Dr. But
Ur n Snrita, “How to Double* Corn Yield*" but the
Advanced e«*ai»oii ruak«*e it nectwmary to have thii
•Ubject treated without further delay.
'crop rotation, in which legumes fig
ure prominently, and by stable ma
nure; but it must not be Inferred
from this, that commercial fertil
izers have no place in Increasing
' corn yields. In the first place, they
should be used on the other crops in
the rotation. Especially should phos
phoric acid, and in some sections
potash, be used on the legume crops
grown for soil improvement and to
make forage for live stock, by which
the stable manure needed is to be
made.
Moreover, until the soil can be
tilled with the humus, necessary to
the best corn yields, we must use
commercial fertilizers if profitable
returns can be secured from such
use. Many good farmers claim that
it does not pay to use commercial
fertilizers on corn. To support this
position there is considerable experi
mental evidence; but many of the
failures to receive profitable returns
from the use of comercial fertilizers
on corn have resulted during dry
years sod on land too poor ror a
profitable yield of corn under any
conditions. If there is a deficiency
of water, of course, the fertilisers
cannot be dissolved and will do the
crop no good. Moreover, for this
and other reasons, poor land, defi
cient in humus, will not give as
profitable returns on commercial fer
tilisers used as good land. This ap
plies to practically all crops In the
South, but especially to corn on land
inclined to be dry as well as poor.
On the other hand, on lands of
fair fertility, commercial fertilisers
used Judiciously may be made to pay
on corn under average weather con
ditions.
A Good General Formula for Com.
The following mixture Is suggest
ed for ordinary lands:
Acid phosphate, 16 per ct 1,000 lbs.
Cottonseed meal. 1,000 lbs
Of this mixture, from 200 pounds
to 400 pounds may usually be used
profitably.
There are Prairie and Delta lime
lands In Mississippi and Alabama
which do not respond to commercial
fertilizers and there are others in
Alabama which need potash, but the
above is for general use.
Of course, our corn club boys who
are trying to make a large yield,
without such close regard to cost,
may use a much larger quantity on
land well supplied with humus.
On average lands, not too sandy,
we would apply all this fertilizer in
the drill before the corn is planted.
On real light sandy soils, or if any
considerable part of the nitrogen is
supplied by nitrate of soda or sul
phate of ammonia, instead of the
cottonseed meal we have used, we
would make at least two applications
—half before the corn is planted and
the other half as a side application
when the corn is half grown.
If a ready mixed commerical fer
tilizer is to be used, we suggest one
containing about 8 to 10 per cent of
phosphoric acid and 3 to 3 Vi per cent
of nitrogen, or in about these propor
Some advocate the applications of
from 75 pounds to 125 pounds of
nitrate of soda as a side dressing,
when the corn is from 2 to 4 feet
high. The indication for the use of
more nitrogen is a failure of the
corn to make sufficiently large and
rapid growth of stalk. If this condi
tion is present and the corn has not
a dark green color, showing vig
ous growth, an application of nitrate
of soda at this time may pay, but, as
already stated, as a general rule ni
trogen furnished in some organic
compound is usually more satisfac
tory for corn.
Stable manure when applied
should be put on some little time in
advance of planting and thoroughly
mixed with the soil. Otherwise, a
heavy application of coarse stable
manure may so loosen up the soil as
to cause it to dry out too much and
result In the corn firing.
It is the dealer’s business to know
good seed, and if he cheats you once
never trust him again, and warn your
friends against his machinations at
the same time.—T. C. Karas.
Improved Glrole
Braoe Diverse
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Plant Cotton One Seed at a Time
Equally Spaoed—No Skips—No Bunching
Without preparation of the seed, plant a bushel or more or a peck or less to the acre, one
to six inches apart, as you set it, always one seed at a time. Save half the work and time
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Detroit-Americ
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11071 Hastings Strsst. DETROIT, MICH.