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c A
F E D E R A L
Vol. 8, No. 8

r ic u lfu v ^ l
NEWS LETTER
R E S E R V E

B A N K

DALLAS, TEXAS

OF

D A L L A S
August 15, 1953

Cotton Defoliation
The application of chemical sprays or
dusts to cause premature shedding of leaves
has become an accepted practice in the har­
vesting of cotton by either mechanical pickers
or strippers. Defoliating the cotton plant prior
to picking increases the efficiency of mechani­
cal harvesters and improves the quality of
ginned cotton.

cation used, and other factors. Cotton that is
immature or that has been subject to drought
during the growing season is much more diffi­
cult to defoliate. Heavily fruited cotton is
more easily defoliated than plants with only
a few bolls. There is no conclusive evidence
that varieties react differently to the same
defoliant.

Defoliation also retards fiber and seed de­
terioration in rank cotton, lowers population
of some insects by removing the source of
food, and facilitates hand picking because
leaf-free plants dry more quickly, permitting
picking earlier in the mornings.

Defoliation achieved under normally favor­
able conditions can be expected to be from
70 to 90 percent. Application by either ground
or air machines is satisfactory, providing ade­
quate amounts of the materials are used. Air­
planes are particularly effective in heavy,
rank cotton, where adequate coverage some­
times is difficult to obtain with ground
machines.

The cost of defoliation is about $2 per acre
for each application, including cost of mate­
rials and labor. Many fields require two appli­
cations for a satisfactory job of defoliation.
Timing is the key to success in this opera­
tion. Normally, the chemical should be ap­
plied when the youngest bolls are about 30
days old, or from 7 to 15 days before mechani­
cal harvesting is started. It takes about 7 to
10 days for the leaves to die and fall off. If
harvest is delayed too long after defoliation,
re growth of leaves may occur. The ideal time
to defoliate will vary from area to area and
even from field to field.
The effectiveness of defoliants depends
upon condition of the cotton plant at the
time of harvest, weather conditions following
application of the chemical, the rate of appli­

In areas of the Southwest where there
usually is no dew, sprays are much more sat­
isfactory than dusts. Some of the defoliants
contain chemicals which draw moisture from
the plant to start the necessary chemical re­
action. However, most defoliants are more
effective when there is some moisture on the
plant and when the weather following appli­
cation is relatively warm.
Some of the chemicals that have given
satisfactory results in tests by the Texas Agri­
cultural Experiment Station are Endothal,
De-Fol-Ate, Shed-A-Leaf, and fortified sodium
cyanamid. In most tests these chemicals have
been used in sprays, with from 5 to 7 pounds
of the chemical in 25 gallons of solution ap­
plied per acre.

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AGRICULTURAL NEWS LETTER

Farmers planning to use defoliants for the
first time should check with their county
agents or other agricultural leaders to find
the best materials and methods of applica­
tion for their communities.

Cordova

—

A New Barley Variety
fo r Texas

Higher yields, earlier maturity, and the
ability to stand up well for combine harvest­
ing are some of the characteristics of Cordova,
the new barley variety being introduced to
Texas farmers this fall. This variety is espe­
cially well adapted to northern and central
Texas farms.
Cordova is a smooth-awn variety developed
by crossing the popular commercial varieties
of Texan and Wintex. While these have been
grown widely in the State, Wintex has been
highly susceptible to mildew and Texan has
such a weak straw that it frequently does not
stand up well for harvesting operations. The
cross between these two has combined the
good characteristics of both varieties.
In tests during the past 6 years, Cordova
barley has outyielded, by an average of 5
bushels per acre, all other varieties adapted to
Texas. Yields at the Denton, Texas, Experi­
ment Station were 36 bushels per acre over
a 6-year period. At Iowa Park, yields aver­
aged 47 bushels during the past 5 years. In
addition to high yields, the variety is resist­
ant to most of the mildew varieties attacking
barley in the State. However, it is not recom­
mended in south Texas, where many leaf dis­
eases are a major factor in lowering barley
production. In that area the Goliad variety
is recommended.
Cordova is not a true winter variety of bar­
ley, and its resistance to winterkilling has not
yet been established. Hence, it is not recom­
mended for fall planting in the Panhandle
area of Texas; however, it has produced satis­
factorily in the Amarillo area when planted
in the spring.

Cottonseed Stored 1 5 Years Still
Germinates
Cottonseed stored under controlled condi­
tions of moisture and temperature germinated
satisfactorily after a 15-year storage period,
according to Fred C. Elliott, cotton specialist
for the Texas Agricultural Extension Service.
However, results of recent tests also empha­
size that germination of the seed may be im­
paired seriously, even during a relatively
short storage period of 3 or 4 months, if mois­
ture and temperature are not controlled
properly.
In the tests which were conducted by the
United States Department of Agriculture and
the Tennessee Experiment Station, cotton­
seed was stored at moisture levels ranging
from 7 to 14 percent and at temperatures of
90°, 70°, and 33° F. Similar lots of seed also
were stored at normal, uncontrolled air tem­
peratures at Knoxville, Tennessee. After the
15-year storage period, seeds kept at 33° F.
and with moisture contents of 7, 9, and 11 per­
cent germ inated satisfactorily. The seed
stored at 13 percent moisture showed some
deterioration, while those at 14 percent mois­
ture were all dead after 15 years.
Seed stored at a temperature of 70° and 7
percent moisture had a germination of 73 per­
cent. However, all lots of seed stored at 70°
but with more than 7 percent moisture were
dead at the end of the test period.
Seed with 7 percent or more moisture
stored in uncontrolled air temperatures did
not survive beyond 3 years. Some seed with
less than 7 percent moisture stored in the un­
controlled air temperatures survived as long
as 1 3 ^ years.
Deterioration of the seed was most rapid
at a temperature of 90° F, At this tempera­
ture, seed containing 14 percent moisture
were dead in 4 months, and those at all other
moisture levels were dead or badly deterior­
ated at the end of 3 years.

AGRICULTURAL NEWS LETTER

3

Rice Drying Studies

Individual Cages for Laying Hens

Several studies were conducted by the
Texas Agricultural Experiment Station dur­
ing the fall of 1952 to determine the effect
of certain temperatures for drying rice and
the effect of rapid cooling of rice following
the drying process.

The practice of housing laying hens in in­
dividual cages is receiving an increasing
amount of attention in the Southwest. Under
such a plan, each hen is kept in an individual
cage. Feed and water usually are provided in
troughs along the sides of the cages.

In these tests, rice was dried at average
temperatures of 115.1° and 125.5° F. Follow­
ing the drying process, germination and mill­
ing tests were made to determine whether the
difference in temperatures had adversely af­
fected the rice.

There are both ad­
vantages and disadvan­
tages to this system, ac­
cording to W. J. Moore,
poultry husbandman for
the Texas Agricultural
Extension Service. The
cage system is an inten­
sive method of producing eggs and, as such,
requires constant, precise, and detailed atten­
tion. Failure of any one piece of equipment or
any of the feeding or watering operations can
be particularly harmful to egg production.

In both cases, there was no difference in
the milling quality of the rice dried at these
temperatures. Germination of the sample
dried at the higher temperature was some­
what better, although rice from both lots ger­
minated satisfactorily.
A second study was made to determine the
effect of rapid cooling of rice. In these tests,
rice that had passed through the drier was
cooled rapidly with cold air. The time of ex­
posure was about 15 minutes, with the tem­
perature being reduced to about 32° F. No
undesirable effects on milling quality or ger­
mination were noted from this treatment.

Texas farmers are now using 270,000 farm
tractors to provide most of the power required
for carrying on their many and varied farm­
ing operations. More than two and a half mil­
lion farm implements are used as attachments.

Now is a good time to collect soil samples
to be sent to the Soil Testing Laboratory at
College Station, Texas. Samples submitted
now will be tested and analyzed and fertilizer
recommendations returned to farmers in time
for fall seeding of grains and legumes. There
is a charge of $1 per sample for the testing
service. Additional information and applica­
tion blanks should be obtained from county
agricultural agents.

Among the advantages of the individual
cage system are: egg production can be held
fairly uniform throughout the year, cannibal­
ism can be eliminated, competition between
birds for the feed is eliminated, more freedom
is possible from coccidiosis and roundworms,
feed efficiency can be improved, and mortality
is lowered.
Among the disadvantages Mr. Moore lists
the relatively high initial investment in equip­
ment, the greater attention that must be given
to details, the problem of controlling flies, and
the necessity for providing multiple brooding
of replacements.
The manager of a cage system of handling
laying flocks should replace each bird when­
ever it goes out of production. This means
that there must be a constant source of re­
placement birds, in order to maintain full use
of the facilities.
Additional details may be obtained from
county agricultural agents or by writing the
Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, Col­
lege Station, Texas, and asking for a copy of

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AGRICULTURAL NEWS LETTER

Bulletin C-338, entitled “Laying Cage Man­
agement.”

Publications
New Mexico Agricultural Experiment Station,
State College:

Faster Gains with Creep Feeding

Alfalfa Cubes for Fattening Lambs a n d
Wethers, Bulletin 375, by P. E. Neale.

Creep feeding beef calves puts on extra
pounds faster and more efficiently, says U. D.
Thompson, animal husbandman for the Texas
Agricultural Extension Service.

How to Build a Portable Livestock Scale,
Circular 238.

A creep-feeding program involves the con­
struction of a small enclosure in the pasture
with an entrance large enough for the calves
but too small for the older animals. Grain is
placed inside the enclosure.
Mr. Thompson says that despite high
grain prices, creep feeding will pay off this
year, because many of the calves were weak
when born and need extra feed and care to
overcome their slow start. He also points out
that this program will give the cow herd a
chance to utilize more fully the good range
growth available this spring.
Whole oats are recommended as the best
grain to use, with some corn or milo added
when the calves reach 4 months of age. A
suggested ration is 65 pounds of corn or milo
and 35 pounds of oats. If the pasture is not
providing green grazing, a protein feed, such
as cottonseed meal, should be added to the
mixture; Mr. Thompson suggests 10 pounds
of cottonseed meal, 25 pounds of oats, and 65
pounds of corn or milo.
The young calves can utilize whole grain.
However, by midsummer it usually is advis­
able to crack or grind the grain, in order to
get maximum gains.
Bonemeal and salt should be placed in a
small feeder near the creep, so that both the
cows and the calves can help themselves.

Vitamin Supplements for D airy C alves,
Bulletin 376, by S. R. Skaggs.
Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station,
Stillwater:
Cowpeas As a Protein Feed for Fattening
Steer Calves, Bulletin No. B-399, b y
L. S. Pope and others.
Meat-Type Hog Production: Influence o f
Breeding and Energy Content of the
Ration on Pork Carcasses, Bulletin No.
B-398, by James A. Whatley, Jr., and
others.
Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, Col­
lege Station:
Bin Drying of Rice at Beaumont, 1952-53,
Progress Report 1583, by S. R. Morrison
and others.
Cordova Barley, Bulletin 760, by I. M .
Atkins.
Effect of Fertilizer Treatments on Yield
and on Earworm Damage of Fall-Planted
Sweet Corn, Progress Report 1581, b y
H. W. Gausman and others.
Hay Curing and Handling Studies, Beau­
mont, 1951-52, Progress Report 1582, b y
Stanton Morrison.
Prices Paid for Registered Herefords at
Auctions in Texas, 1915-52, Miscellane­
ous Publication 91, by Harry L. Williams
and John G. McNeely.
Copies of the bulletins may be secured b y
request to the publishers.
The Agricultural News Letter is prepared in
the Research Department under the direction
of C a rl H. M oore, Agricultural Economist.