SINGLING ROOTS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1212, 22 August 1911, Page 8

SINGLING ROOTS.

EFFECT OF M'IDK PLANTING ON TIIE YIELD. Comparatively few fanners realise how great a difference careful v awl proper singling makes to the ultimate size, and wight of a crop 'of roirtV says a writer in a well-known farming journal. In the 'first place, ho says, singling is often deterred, too.long, the result beiiiß that the plants become drawn ont, and spindly. ■Singling can hardly take place too 50011, provided the plants .are largo enough'to withstand ah attack of fly- in the case of turnips or swedes ot are too big to l» nipped off by a passing lark or finch in thr-caw of mangolds; It will usually bo noticed that/ solitary seedling's arp the most robust, though they may' not be the tallest, for the tendency of plants growing in a bunch is for e.ich to try to get above, theotherc, so that the, one that wins can stop the growth of the others by shading them with its leaves. The result of this upward rush-is long, 'thin-looking plants that fall all over the place wheu they aro singled nut. Such plants always seem to be a long time in starting to grow, and often result iu crooked, badly-shaped roots. • > . . The Distance Apart. : The next important point is the distance apart at which- the plants are to be lett in the rows. Upon this and upon the avoidance of all gaps depends very largely the weight of- the crop produced, ■lhat this is so will-be seen from the fallowing figures. If a field is drilled .in rows 27m. apart, which is probably the most usual distant!.-, the total length of the rows on an acre is 19,360 ft. If, therefore, there is a plant at everv foot .there.«ill be 10,360 pla.n-ts on an acre, and »'«y«y wot weighs lib.' there will be ]S,3GPJb., cr 8 ton? 12jcwt. per'acre. From this it is apparent that even with roots of • quita moderate iizo there will bo a good.crop., provided ther? are no gaps, lib. rqots. giving nearly 35 tons per acre. Now let ns see what is the effect of increasing or decreasing the distance between the plants, the width of the rows remaining the same. By reducing the distance between the plants to 9in: the number 'of plants on an aero is increased to 25,513, or at lib. each to 11 tons 10* cwt. per acre. On the other hand, by'incrteising the distance between the plants.to 18in!, the number of plants is" reduced to 12,90i>. which at lib..each is 5 tons ■ l;i J <cwt. per .acre. It is now apparent that with 41b. roots 111 each case we haVe i 6 tons per acre.at 3m. and 23. tons at ISin., an'enorinous diffcrcn.ee. . Doubling the Size of the Roots. It jw-ill, of- course, be rightly argued that in actual practice the roots grown at 18m. apart 'will be larger than -tlior.o grown at 9in., .and although this is'undoubtedly, the case, the writer urges that no practical man will contend that, tho manuring and other, treatment being tho Mime," the simple fact' of increasing the distance, apart.from .Din. to ISin. would exactly double the si::e of the roots.' Thev would.be a good deal larger, we know, but it is doubtful if, thev would make up anything like the whole of;the difference'. There is, of course, a. minimum distance apart beyond 'which it'is'impossible to go without 'a very serious decreasa' in the size of the plants, and this 'depends very largely on the nature of the.plants thenir selves. '. It .is. quite easy by the abundant use of "fnrniyard' .arid artificial manures to make sure that there'shall, he ho lack of,plant ft-od in. the soil, however large, the crop, but beyond this the factors that chiefly determine'the size of the crop aro wafer and sunlight.' In-a-dry season the' very closely-grown plants wo'uld compete seriously with 'one another for moisture, while in a season of greater rainfall tho leaves would so shade each. : of.her as to prevent any one plant "getting it* due' share of sunshine. Rain and Sunshine. , The importance of water, and sunshine in determining the size of a crop is, perhaps, hardly sufficiently realised. -In • 1001b. of mangolds of average composition for example, about ,881b. will be water, only lib. will'consist of plant foods taken from the soil, .while no less-than 111b. consists of carbohydrates manufactured in the leaves, from'the carbonic acid of the air, and water by means of the sun's ravs. It is evident, therefore, that the better ive have the ground covered with loaves the more of this carbohydrate material we are likely to get, and that the sunlight falling on the bare ground'is more or les.v •wasted. Practically, it amounts to this. It is a waste to single out the plants of mangold's, and turnips too for apart. The distance should be such that the leaves will cover Hit ground shortly before they reach their greatest growth. Generally speaking, this distance is about 12in. to Hiu.for Globe mangolds and llin. or 12in for Golden Tankards. For swedes lOin. is about the proper distance, and for white turnips lin. less. Tho great point, however, in growing' heavy weights' per acre is' to got a regular olant and avoid all gaps. It is astonishiug the difference this' makes, for one commonly grows mangolds averaging 71b. or 81b. apiecei and yet gets nothing like .the theoretical. weight,.. simply because of the iiunvArous gaps. , 'An" extra lib. or two of seed, per acre is often a help in getting a .regular plant. It might be .noted, • too. that for heavy yields it is advisable to havq tho row's rather closer together than usual. The reduction of the width of the rows from 2Tin: to. 2-liii. would'add 2120 ft.'to" the total'length of the rows on, an acre, which with even 'moderate-sized rwts. would add considerably to "the total-'weight. The .disadvantage of these .narrow' rows is. that horsehoeing is very 'quickly' stopped by the, leaves, but they are very useful wheu a heavy weight" is. required' and the area is, limited.' ! . , .