XIV. MAIZE. CULTURAL METHODS (CONCLUDED). 305. Planting in Hills or Drills.-The Indian method of planting maize was to plant four grains in a hill four feet each way. This method they taught to the colonists. The usual method in the North Atlantic States is to plant in drills; in the North Central States the practice is divided, but the larger part is planted in hills; in the Southern States it is usually planted in hills on the low level lands, while on hill lands the maize is drilled, in order that all cultivation may be at right angles to the slope of the hill, and thus prevent washing. The chief reason why maize is planted in drills in the North Atlantic States is that on account of the unevenness of the surface the check rowing planters do not readily check straight Two-row maize planter; seed can be planted either In hills or drills. Below on the left is shown a disk in place of shoe as a furrow opener. On the right are two forms of rotary plates for dropping the seed. In the form on the right the number of grains dropped at one time depends upon the size of the holes in the plate; in the form shown in the center, the fact that grains of maize are all practically the same thickness, no matter how much they vary in length and width. is taken advantage of to select the grains singly, the number per hill depending upon the rate at which the plate revolves. cross rows, and that on account of the comparative smallness of the fields a one-horse machine will drill maize rapidly enough, and can be bought for from ten to twelve dollars; while a two-horse maize planter, such as is found economical in the larger and more level fields in the North Central States, will cost from thirty to forty dollars. The wheat drill is also frequently used in the North Atlantic States for planting maize. If the third hoe from each end of a wheat drill having eleven hoes, each seven inches apart, is used, maize will be drilled in rows three feet six inches apart, and the wheels will be twenty-one inches from the drill row, thus serving to mark the land. The differences in method relate to economical farm management, rather than to any material difference in the growth of maize. It is only a question by which method maize may be raised at the least cost, and at the same time given the most effective cultivation. One-row maize drill with fertilizer attachment. 306. Method of Distribution.-Fifteen stations have experimented on the influence of the method of distribution of seed, the amount of seed per acre remaining the same, and all have found either no difference or comparatively small differences due to methods of distribution. Experiments have been conducted at the Illinois Station1 for five years. Plats were planted at five rates of seeding, ranging from 9,504 to 47,520 grains; and at each of these rates of seeding at four methods of distribution: namely, one, two, three and four grains in a place. For three years five grains to a hill were planted. For example, one grain every twelve inches, two grains every twenty-four inches, three grains every thirty-six inches and four grains every forty-eight inches. While the rate of thickness (303) modified the yield of grain and stover, as well as the develop1 Ill. Bul. 31, p. 354 ment of the individual plants, it made no material difference in the development of the individual plant, the size of the ear, the yield of grain or of stover, and hence the proportion of grain to stover, whether one, two, three, four or five grains were planted in a place, provided the number of grains planted per acre was the same, the least distance between hills being three inches, and the greatest being forty-eight inches, in rows three feet eight inches apart. The following table shows the yield of grain for five years, plats having been averaged so as to eliminate the influence of rate of seeding. At the Maryland Station experiments have been conducted during five years with one stalk each twenty-two and a half inches in rows three feet nine inches apart as compared to two stalks per hill three feet nine inches apart. The following table shows the yield to have been slightly in favor of drilling every year both in yield of grain and stover: The Connecticut Station 1 found the composition of the crop practically the same, whether planted in hills or drills. Doubtless in some instances increased yields which have been attributed to planting in drills have been due to increased rate of seeding and not to the method of distribution. Where deep culture is practiced, however, drilling doubtless lessens the injury from root pruning (311), although at the same time tending to increase the growth of weeds. (309) 307. Distance Apart of Rows.-While a large number of experiments have been made to determine the advisability of planting in hills or drills, but few experiments have been made to determine the best distance or the limit of distance between rows. The distance apart of rows usually varies from three feet six inches or less in the extreme North to six feet or more in the South. Probably more maize planters are sold which plant three feet eight inches apart than any other distance. From experiments which have been conducted it is doubtful whether greater yields of dent maize can be obtained with rows three feet six inches apart than with rows three feet eight inches apart, provided the same amount of grain is planted per acre. On the other hand, the labor of cultivation is increased about five per cent. The Georgia Station spaced single plants of dent maize four by three feet, five by two and four-tenths feet, and six by two feet, thus securing the same number of plants per acre, and obtained seventeen, sixteen and five-tenths, and sixteen and one-tenth bushels per acre respectively. At the Alabama Station3 slightly better yields were obtained with single plants three feet nine inches apart in rows four feet apart than with single plants three feet apart in rows five feet apart. The station, however, recommends rows five feet apart, both on account of the cheapness of cultivation and because it facilitates the raising of a row 1 Conn. Rpt. 1890, p. 183. 2 Ga. Bul. 46, p. 68. 3 Ala. Bul. 88, p. 500. of cowpeas between the rows of maize, which practice is recommended for poor land. 308. Intercultural Tillage. The cultivation of maize during its early development prevents the growth of weeds and stirs the soil. The destruction of the weeds is made necessary by the fact that comparatively few plants are raised per acre and that it takes these plants from four to eight weeks to occupy the soil and shade the ground sufficiently to check the growth of weeds. The small grains quickly occupy the soil and prevent the growth of weeds. The tillage of these cereals has not in most instances been found to increase the yield. (136) This fact, in itself, suggests that killing the weeds is the most important purpose of tillage. 309. Injury Due to Weeds.-At the New Hampshire Station1 on an uncultivated plat on which weeds grew luxuriantly, the yield of grain was 17.1 bushels per acre, while on a plat culti vated shallow five times, the yield was 79.1 bushels, and when cultivated deep five times it was 69.7 bushels per acre. The injury due to weeds may be attributed to three causes: (1) They consume plant food. The plant food removed by the largest possible crop can easily be supplied in fertilizers. As good a crop could not be raised in this way as would be obtained if no fertilizer were applied and the land kept free of weeds. Hence, weeds must do something else. (2) Weeds shade the ground. They obstruct the sunlight and perhaps keep the soil cooler. The author, however, mulched a plat sixteen days after planting, with sufficient coarse, strawy manure to keep the weeds in subjection, and obtained forty-eight bushels of grain and 5,009 pounds of maize fodder, as compared with forty-six bushels of grain and 4,686 pounds of fodder when cultivated one to two inches deep, and forty-one bushels of grain and 4,224 pounds of fodder when cultivated four inches deep. Hence, weeds must do something else. 1 N. H. Bul. 71, p. 47. |