190 ANNUAL KEPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



took this matter up with the pnjducers and nianufacturers and is 

 liniilin^ the content of borax in fertilizers to one-tenth of 1 per cent, 

 unless the amount contained be clearly stated on the label for the 

 j^uiiUince of the farmer in making the application to the soil, so that 

 not more than 2 pounds of borax be a})plied per acre. 



Experiments are being conductetl to study the effect of borax on 

 different soils and under different climatic conditions, using amounts 

 from 1 pound to 400 pounds per acre and studying the effect of ap- 

 })lying in the drill, applying broadcast, delayed j)lanting after the 

 fertilizer application, aiid the influence of rain and soil moisture by 

 repeated plantings through a period of several weeks, during which 

 different clinuitic conditions are encountered. The experiments are in 

 progress in Maine, XeAv Jersey, Virginia, and Alabama, and the crops 

 grown are com, potatoes, cotton, and beans. Corn and beans are 

 especially sensitive to borax and begin to show reactions from 2 to 

 5 pounds of borax per acre, according to conditions, while potatoes 

 and cotton show reactions from 5 to 20 pounds. When bi'oadcasted, 

 larger amounts are required to show injury than when drilled, and 

 copious rainfall after application of the borax fertilizers in all cases 

 decreases greatly the injury due to borax. 



POTASH REQUIREMENT OF THE POTATO AND COTTON PLANTS. 



The requirements of the potato and cotton plants in regard to pot- 

 ash have been especially studied. The decrease in potash and finally 

 its entire elimination in fertilizers during the early periods of the 

 war caused considerable damage locally on certain soils in the potato- 

 growing regions of the Xortheastern States and the cotton region of 

 the Southeastern States. The plants suffered from a disease which 

 was diagnosed as caused by malnutrition, due to the unbalanced con- 

 dition of tlie fertilizers brought about by the elimination of potash. 

 In the potato this so-called potash, hunger shov\'s itself in a darker 

 green foliage, much wrinkled and distorted leaves, which later become 

 bronzed or browmed and the plant much diminished in vigor, finally 

 succumbing to secondary infections wliich cause a falling of the 

 leaves or the entire wilting and dying of the stems. Avith a much 

 decreased yield in tubers, due to the early maturity and death of the 

 vines. In the cotton plant the symptoms are somewhat similar, 

 darker green foliage, which later rusts badly, the plant becoming 

 finall}' completely defoliated at about the time the first bolls begin to 

 mature. The A'ounger bolls do not reach maturity, and the yield of 

 cotton is greatly reduced by lack of potash. The extensive experi- 

 ments made in the States menticmed above sliowed that this condition 

 was entirely eliminated by restoring the proper fertilizer balance by 

 the introduction of pota.sh salts. 



These experiments further showed the important point that the 

 potash consumption in the fertilizers of prewar days Avas unneces- 

 sarily high, and that approximately one-half the amount of potash 

 then used gives as good and in many cases a better balance to the 

 fertilizer ratio for the production of these crops. This is especially 

 true in the case of the potato-groAving regions of the Xortheastern 

 and South Atlantic States, Avhere this change in practice has already 

 saved the groAvers about $10 per acre, Avhich means the saving of 

 large sums in their fertilizer bills. 



