520 



STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



PLANTING, 



On those farms where corn planters are in use, special plates can 

 be made to handle sunflower seed very satisfactorily. On many farms 

 where corn has not been a regular crop and no planter is available the 

 ordinary grain drill will give satisfactory results if part of the holes 

 are plugged to obtain the proper spacing of rows. 



Experiments conducted at the Chatham Experiment Station on time 

 of planting indicate that early plantings from May 15th to June 1st 

 are better than later plantings. Six to 8 pounds of seed per acre in 





mm:2:^-^-\^^ 



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Fig. 16. Corn harvestinR equipment is also very satisfactory in harvesting sunflowers. 



rows from 30 to 3G inches apart will give maximum yield and best 

 quality of silage. 



If help is available and maximum tonnage is desired, a good plan 

 is to seed 8 to 10 pounds per acre and then when the plants are 5 or 

 6 inches high go through with a hoe and block out so as to have a 

 plant standing every 6 to 8 inches in the row. 



The Mammoth Russian sunflower is the variety recommended by the 

 Station at the present time. 



TIME TO CUT FOR SILAGE. 



Sunflowers should be cut for silage when the field is about 1-10 to 1-3 

 in bloom. This crop comes into maturity too irregular to base the 

 time of cutting on a condition such as milk stage or dough stage. The 

 condition of the field as a whole must determine the time to cut. 



HARVESTING. 



Ordinary corn harvesting machinery is quite satisfactory for the 

 harvesting of sunflowers. At the Chatham sub-station a two-row sled 

 was devised on a 2 x 4 runners with the front end 24 inches wide and 

 42 inches wide in the rear. Knives were made from an old crosscut 



