EXPERIMENTS W ITH MAIZE.

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3 Ia y, 1919 T H E A G R I C U L T U R A L J O U R N A L OF S.,'l

EXPERIMENTS W ITH M AIZE.

A T T H E S C H O O L O F A G R IC U L T U R E A N D E X P E R IM E N T F A R M , P O TC H E F S TR O O M .

This report refers to Maize Experim ents conducted at the Potchefstroom .School of A griculture, or under its charge, during the past three years. Mr. H . D.

Leppan, B .S .A ., planned a number of the trials; Mr. H . W olfe, M .S c.A g.,

■after'ioards assisted with the work, and latterly it was in charge of Mr. C.

Mainwaring. Mr. T. G. W . R einecke, M .S c.A g., now Principal of the E lsen

burg School of Agriculture, designed the Co-operative E xperim ents, and these have been carried out by Mr. G. J.

reported by Mr. T. 0 . Bell, B .S c., has son.—E . J. Ma c m i l l a n, Principal.

Ex p e r i m e n t a l work with Maize was

begun at this farm in 1903, when manurial plots were laid down and a num

ber of varieties were put under trial.

Eighty-five different breeds and strains in .all have been grown and compared. These .are, in the order and under the names

which appear in the reports :—

North American, Transvaal Yellow, H ickory liin g , Early Learning, Late W hite Horsetootli, Natal W hite Horse- tooth, King of Earlies, Yellow Hogan, Red Cob Ensilage, Vilm orin’ s Early, Yellow Longeared, Late Mastodon, Early Bed H ogan, Early Star Learning,’ Pride

■of the North, W aterloo Extra Early, Red H ogan, Gold Mine, Indian Pearl, Cana

dian Early Yellow, Ninety Day. V il

morin’ s Early Yellow , Improved Learn

ing, B lunt’ s W hite Prolific, Yellow Horse-

■tooth, Egyptian, Burpee’ s Golden Beauty, Golden Beauty, W hite Botman, Y’ ellow Butcher, Yellow Botm an, W hite-cap- Dent, W hite Cango, Austin’ s Colossal Yellow Dent, Yellow Cango, Boone Connty W hite, Golden K ing, Hawkesbury Champion, H ickory Horse tooth, Early Butler Corn, W isconsin W hite Dent, Iow a Silver Mine, Drought Proof, Yellow D ent, W o o d ’ s Northern W hite Dent, 100- Day Bristol, Champion W hite Pearl, Im proved Early Horsetooth, Virginian

Bosman, B .S .A . Earlier work in Maize been drawn upon for purposes of compari-

Horsetooth, Longfellow Elint, Extra Early Huron Dent, Large Y^ellow Elint, C om pton’s Early, Thoroughbred W hite .Elint, Chester County Mammoth, Eureka, New England, Potchefstroom Pearl, Champion Y'ellow Dent, R eid’ s Yellow Dent, P alin’s Corn Flake, F u n k ’s Y^ellow Dent, Snow Flake, Mercer’ s Southern W hite Gourd, Snow W hite Dent, Johnson’ s County W hite, Chase’ s W hite Dent, H ogu e’s Yellow Dent, Shenandoah Y'ellow Dent, Nebraska W hite, Rausa’ s Sunflower, Farm er’s Reliance, Silver K ing, Bloody-Butcher, F unk’ s 90-Day, Golden Standard Learn

ing, Natal .8-R ow , Red Cob Cango, Sure- cropper, Chisholm, Ferguson’ s Yellow Dent, H opi.

As a result of these trials six breeds have been selected. These have been grown in quantity on the farm arid sold as seed to farmers.

. The comparative plots are being con

tinued and new strains are obtained and compared with the standard sorts from year to year.

Comparison of Varieties, 1917-18.

The variety trials for the past season were made on a brown loam about 12 inches deep over a gravel sub-soil. The ground was in a good state of fertility from previous applications of manures to

ced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated 2013.)

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12 T H E A G R I C U L T U R A L J O U R N A L OF S.A. May, 1919.

other crops, and no fertilizer was .applied d irect. to this crop. The previous crop was peanuts. Planting was done on the 16th November, in rows 3 feet apart and 18 inches in the row, and several seeds were dropped at one place. Plants not necessary were afterwards thinned out in order, as far as possible, to secure a com plete stand. In spite of these precau

tions, the stalk-borer caused a slight varia

tion in the number of plants which matured on each plot. The yields have been calculated from the harvest of two

rows of each breed, comprising one-tenth

of an a,ere. '

The home-grown seed germiuated well, but difficulty was experienced in obtain

ing a satisfactory stand from seed im ported from America. The weather from the time of planting until the end of January was favourable, and a good growth was made. Cloudy weather in March delayed ripening, and the time taken to reach maturity was considerably extended for all breeds, reaching from 115 to 146 da.ys.

V A R IE TY TRIALS, 1917— 18,

-

W eight

Y ield Grain per Acre

Varieties in order of Y ield. Character. Maturity. per in Bags of

Bushel. .200 lb.

P alm 's Corn Flake Y ellow D ent M edium 64J- lb. 29

E ureka ... ... ... ... 62" .. 28|

Chester County M am m oth . ...

W hite D ent

M edium early 64 28|

Iow a Silver Mine 63 J- ., 28£

P otch efstroom Pearl

k »

M edium late 63| 2 6 f

N atal W h ite H orsetootli Very late ' . . 62 251 ‘

Surecropper r „

Y ellow D ent

Medium late 61 .. 25±'

F u nk’ s Y ellow D ent Medium 63 .. 24J

Chisholm .:. W h ite D ent Medium late 60i ., 24

Cango ■■■ . Y ellow Flint Medium early 6 6 ' 23

H ick ory K in g ... ...

F erguson’ s Y ellow D ent

W hite D ent M edium late 60 „ 2 2 i

Y ellow D en t Medium 63, 20J

N atal 8-row Y ellow Flint Early 65^ .. 20£

Silver K in g* ... ... ... W hite D ent Medium early 60£ ,, 16}

*The yield of Silver K in g, which was m ination.

In trials previously reported Eureka headed the list for yield in an average of nine years, and Chester County Mammoth stood second. P alin’s Corn Flake when tested some years ago proved a medium- yielding breed. The strain grown during the past season obtained from W . H . Pilkington, E sq ., Leenwdoorns, proved particularly good, with the result that it has now com e out first. It has not only given the highest yield,.' but the heaviest grain.

H ickory K ing, though producing grain of excellent quality, has-never stood high on the list for yield at this station.

The heaviest yielding white maize in former trials was Natal W hite Horsetooth, and H ickory King was second. Iowa Silver M ine sta.nds third to Eureka and Chester County Mammoth throughout the trials. Potchefstroom Pearl has now come _ to the front as one of the best of the white sorts. It is a vigorous grower, stands drought better than H ickory K ing, and, as shown by recent milling' tests, it may be used to make-meal of the first quality.

Mr. W . H . Horsfall, who kindly carried out an expert milling test with this m aize, reported on it as follows :—

eproduced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated 2013.)

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P la te / . F o u r U s e f u l T y p e s .

(1) Natal 8-row (Yellow F lin t); (2) Potchefstroom Pearl (W hite Dent)

.May. 1919. T H E A G R I C U L T U R A L J O U R N A L O F S. A. 13

View of portion of Maize Varieties Test, 1919, showing ends of' long strips.

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14 T H E . I (I RI C U L T U R A L J O U R N A L O F S. A M ay , 1919.

1‘ lute. I I . D i s t a n c e T r i a l s . 3 ft. 3 in . x 0 in .

N o t e weak gr ow th and small cobs. On ly one pl ant in t w o bore a cob. wh ich was generally a mere c on to rte d nubbin.

P la te 111. D i s t a n c e T r i a l s . 3 ft . 3 in . x 18 in .

P ra ct ic a lly every plant bore a c ob , often tw o. fr om t w o to three times the size o f those shown in P la te I I .

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May, 1919.

T H E A G R I C U L T U R A L J O U R N A L OF S. A.

15

“ The maize grinds well, producing an The contents of the seed do not appear to excellent, granulated meal, with a good ^ g0 ilorny a nature as in some white flavour and suitable for table use. In the r—~

flour test the meal yielded 54 per cent. ^ varieties and therefore are more flour of good colour and fine even grain, friable.”

V A R IE TY TRIALS— FIVE YEARS.

Breed.

Average Y ield per Acre.

F ive Years.

Average W eight of Grain per Bushel.

Eureka ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 22-9 bags 62 lb.

Chester County M am m oth ... ■ ... ... 22-7 ,, 62J

Iow a Silver Mine ... ... ... ... ... ... 22 ₆

P otch efstroom Pearl ... ... ... ... ... 21-8 „ 63± „

Y ellow Cango ... ... ... ... ... 20-3 „ 66 „ H ickory K in g ... ... ... '... ... ... 1 9 - 6 , , 6 2 , ,

V A R IE TY TRIALS— NINE YEARS.

Breed.

1

Y ield per A cre, Average Nine Years.

Eureka 22 "4 bags.

Chester County M amm oth 22-4 ,,

Iow a Silver Mine ... ... ... ... ... ... ... • 21-3

„

Y ellow Cango 19-9 „

H ick ory King 19-9 „

It will be seen that the positions of the leading breeds in regard to yield have not varied greatly as a result of more recent trials. Potchefstroom Pearl reported for five years comes in ahead of H ickory King and Yellow Cango. The Pearl is almost equal to Silver Mine in yield and surpasses the latter by much in quality.

Distance of Planting Experiments.

Experiments, with the object of deter

mining the most suitable distance for planting under Transvaal conditions, were begun in 1904. The maize was planted in rows varying from 2 feet to 4 feet apart, the distance between plants in the rows remaining the same. The breeds used were medium, medium early, and medium

late in maturity. This experiment was continued for seven years. The crop planted in rows 2 feet apart consistently 'gave the highest yield, but the grain was-

small and poor in quality.

Rows 2 feet 6 inches, 3 feet and 3 feet 6 inches gave almost the same results. It should be added that rows less than 3 feet apart are not advisable for cultivation.

In 1915 a further trial was begun in which the distance between the rows re

mained constant, namely, 3 feet 3 inches, this being found a very convenient width for purposes of cultivation. The distance between plants in the row was varied from 12 inches to 24 inches. The breed used was Eureka. The following results have been obtained to date :—

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16 T H E A G R I C U L T U R A L J O U R N A L OF S. A. M ay, 1919!

Season.

Distance of Plants in R ow .

24 Inches. 18 Inches. 12 Inches.

L b . grain. L b /g r a in . L b . grain.

1915-16 3,960 2,740 2,120

1916-17 4,280 4,840 5,320

1917-18 2,680 2,760 2,900

Average 3 years 3,640 3,433 3,446

The advantage over the three years is, therefore, in favour of the thinnest plant

ing.

The season of 1915-16 was a dry oiie, and the return show a marked increase fiom the thinner plantings. In both years which followed the position is re

versed, and in those years the rainfall was greater. The results are in accordance with the accepted principle that thin seed

ing is necessary for dry climates.

Rotation and Fertilizer Experiments.

An experiment with maize in rotation with different crops was begun in 1915.

The following' trials are included :—

1. Teff every year.

2. Maize and teff in alternate.years.

3. Maize and cow-peas in alternate years.

4. Maize two years, cow-peas one year.

5. Maize two years, velvet beans one year.

6. Maize every year, interplanted with cow-peas.

7. Maize every year, interplanted with rape.

8. Maize every year, interplanted with common clover.

9. Maize two years, bare, fallow one year.

10. Maize every year, farmyard manure.

11. Maize every year, with complete fertilizer.

12. Maize every year, no manure.

No definite comparisons can yet be made betwreen the different systems. The interplanted plots have not proved a suc

cess, as the crops sown in the rows be

tween the maize always suffered from drought and sometimes failed completely.

A separate experiment is in progress testing a four-year rotation comprising : Teff, 1st y e a r; cow7-peas, 2nd year ; maize, 3rd and 4th years. In addition, various phosphatic manures will be tried on the maize. This rotation promises to prove very suitable on the average farm where maize is grown and stock feed is required.

The cow-peas will be used as fodder and as green manure and the maize following the cow-peas will reap the advantage of the soil improvement due to the latter.

Co-operative Experiments.

Six co-operative experiments were laid down during the past season by the Itinerant Instructor. The most repre

sentative maize soils were selected for this purpose and these are situated at Erm elo, Kaffir Spruit (border of Erm elo District), Trichardts (Bethal District), Y al (Stan- derton District), Koster (borders of Lich- tenburg and Rustenburg), Leeuwdoorns

(Wolmaransstad District). '

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The following manures are being plots situated on the farm of Jos. Smith

tested :— and Son, Val, were partially destroyed,

Bone-Meal ... ... 150 lb. per acre. and Plots at P. J. Rousseau’ s, Koster, and , Superphosphate ... 150 lb. per acre. D - van Eeyneveld’s, Leeuwdoorns, gave a

Rock Phosphate (Sal- -^e^ -

danha Bay) ... 500 lb. per acre. uSef u[ comparison of manures is pos- Blood-Meal ... 7-5 lb. per acre. sible on a basis of one year’s trials. The Green Manure (cow- onty outstanding result is a reduced yield peas ploughed under) m every case where lime was used.

Ground Limestone

. The different soils under experiment

(applied to hair the

, ~ nnn ,, included: Red sandy (light), red clay area) ... 2,000 lb. per acre.

loam, Vaal sandy loam.

The plot trials-in the Ermelo and Bethal

Districts were a complete failure owing to (Bulletin Local Series No. 81, Union heavy rains in the growing periods. The Department of Agriculture.) May, 1919. T H E A G R I C U L T U R A L J O U R N A L OF S. A. 17

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