EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS, 



339 



DISTANCE APART OF ROWS AND RATE OF PLANTING. 



DATA. 



Date planted. 



Lbs. of 



seed per 



acre. 



Distance 



between 



rows 



inches. 



Tons 



per 



acre. 



Check Mav 26 

 May 27 

 May 27 

 May 27 



Check May 27 

 May 27 

 May 27 

 May 27 

 May 27 



Check May 27 



6 

 30 

 15 

 10 



6 



7^ 



7 



6 



8 



6 



30 



6 



12 



18 

 30 

 24 

 36 

 42 

 30 

 30 



17.8 

 14.8 

 13.6 

 12.7 

 15.8 

 13.8 

 13.7 

 15.6 

 18.4 

 15.7 



The rows at distances of 24 to 36 inches gave the best quality of silage. 

 The rows under 24 inches gave small stalks which tended to lose their leaves 

 at a premature stage while the 42-inch rows tended to produce heavy stalks 

 that would reduce the quality of the silage. The 30 to 42-inch rows gave the 

 heaviest yields and also required less seed per acre for a stand than did the 

 closer plantings. 



The results obtained from these experiments would indicate that rows from 

 30 to 36 inches apart seeded at from 6 to 8 pounds per acre will give the most 

 satisfactory results for northern Michigan. 



CULTIVATION. 



In 1919 when the plants were about six inches high, they were thinned to 

 a plant every 6 to 10 inches, otherwise receiving about the same culture as 

 you would give corn. In 1920 none of the plats were thinned with a hoe, 

 the idea being to determine a rate of seeding that would do away with any 

 expensive hand labor, all plats were cultivated as for corn. A more perfect 

 stand can be obtained by seeding a little heavy and then thinning, — however, 

 this is not a necessary practice. 



HARVESTING. 



Ordinary corn harvesting machinery is quite satisfactory for the harvest- 

 ing of sunflowers. This crop is fast gaining in importance north of where 

 corn is commonly grown and therefore no corn harvesting machinery is 

 available. At the Chatham Sub-Station this year a two-row sled was de- 

 vised on 2x4 runners with the front 24 inches wide and widening to 42 inches 

 in the rear. Knives were made from an old crosscut saw and attached to 

 the edges. Two men stood on the sled and gathered the cut stalks in bundles. 

 These were laid at the sid€ of the row where they were collected by wagons 

 and hauled to the cutter about one-half day after cutting. This is an eco- 

 nomical way of harvesting where the acreage grown will not warrant the 

 expense of a corn harvester. 



