MAIZE GROWING.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 260, 2 November 1928, Page 17

MAIZE GROWING.

CULTIVATION OF THE CROP.

HOW Til OBTAIN THE HIOHKST RETURNS.

(By FURROW.)

Like most other crops ma ' Uv remiires tliorou P h and intelligent cultivation both More mid afti-r sowing if the maximum yiHd w to be obtained. It is, therefore ' nt '''I 1 «" «»" urticlP to outline the typo of cultivation which will lead to the highest returns being obtained from thiM crop.

Cultivation Before Sowing.

J lie initial cultivation bhoulel be rumme need as early as possible in the year. When maize is to follow grass it is advisable to plough in the autumn and allow the soil to be weathered during the winter months. For second and third succeeding crops on the same area this does not usually lit i n with the inrm practice which consists of feeding <>IY the old maize, stalks during the winter months. Nevertheless, ploiigliin« .should commence as soon as these stalks have been eaten off, and where the land lias been ploughed in the autumn it should be ploughed again across the furrow not later than the middle of September. Subsequent cultivation up to the time of sowing should aim at the formation of a good, deep, seed bed which should be l>oth fine and firm. This can be attained by judicious use of discs, roller, cultivator and harrows. Tt is not sufficient to l'i-vo the top inch or two line if the next three inches consist of clods of varyiu« sizes. Such a condition does not allow of the soil moisture rising freely from the subsoil, so that the plants will suffer ill consequence. If the soil contains many large clods, as it will do on lieavv land or immediately after grass, these should l>e brought to the surface with a cultivator where they can be reduced in size with the discs or broken up by the rollers. At the same tim e the cultivator will shake any tine soil from the surface to tho bottom of the furrow where it will promote good conditions for the rise of soil moisture. On light count ry it is advisable to roll just before sowing so as to bring the moisture to the surface. Later Cultivation. After sowing, which should be completed by the tirst week in November ©special attention has to be paid to intercultivation, if the highest returns arc to be obtained. In former days, when hand laboui could bo obtained cheaply, it was the usual practice to hand hoe the whole crop. Old growers of that day attribute the diminishing yields of to-day to the fact that this practice is no longer it vogue, and to a certain degree they arc correct. Still, with the present cost ot labour, it is not possible to devote sr much attention to hand work, snd it therefore, behoves growers to make » greater effort to efficiently carry out their team work. In this direction liar rowing the young crop when it is a few inches high In some measure com pensates for the now dcfunct practice of hand hoeing. This harrowing ir especially beneficial in cheeking incipient wood growth which would otherwise tend to smother the young maize plants Such work should be done along the rows rather than across tlieni, and i: carried out on a warm afternoon there will be practically no damage elone te tho young plants. In any case, if a few arc accidentally dragged out, the benefit derived from the cßecking of seedling weeds by far outweighs the loss of t few maize plants. Free Use of the Scarifier. Subsequent to tho harrowing the icarifler should be freely used during the early growing period of the crop. This ehould commence when the plants are fivo or six inches high, and should be repeated at fortnightly intervals as lonj as it is possible to get through the erof without damaging it. So far as deptl of scarifying is concerned, it is advisable to go to about four inches on the first occasion, but subsequent to this no work should be done to a greater depth thai three Inches. Actually, efficiency wil not suffer if the depth of scarifying is not more than two inches, and the operation will be so much lighter on the team. Many growers are inclined te scarify to four and even five inches ir isolated cases, with results that are harmful to the plants, as the scarifiei cuts through the lateral surface roots thereby reducing their ability to gathei moisture and nourishment from tlife soil A little thought on this matter te>gethei with a careful examination of the root system of a growing plant would undoubtedly convince many that such deep scarifying is harmful to the crop. Returns Proportionate to Labour Expended. It fo difficult to state exactly when scarifying should cease, as this will depend on the growth of the crop. Usuallj it is possiblo to scarify six to eight times in a growing season. Extra acarifyings are especially beneficial aftei heavy rains, as the soil requires mulching again to prevent too great a surface evaporation from taking place. One point to remember in connection with the emltivation of maize is that one's returns will be proportionate to the labour expendeel In cultivation. It is a common and a. fairly true belief that each extra scarifying is worth anotliei live bushels in yield; but even if this is not literally true, it ia certain that lack of cultivation will leael to such a luxuriant. growth of weeels that the maize crop will he so handicapped that it will yielel very little in return for the outlay ol the grower.