14 The Bulletin 



Summary of the Cotton Variety Tests. 



Forty-four cotton varieties were tested on the Experiment Station 

 Farm during the past season. Of this number 37 are short-staple and 

 7 long-staple varieties. The short-staple varieties ranged in yield be- 

 tween 964 and 1,417 pounds of seed cotton per acre, a difference of 453 

 pounds between the lowest and the highest yielding variety. This rep- 

 resents a difference in money value of about $24, which is about the 

 cost of producing an acre of cotton under average conditions. The long- 

 staple varieties ranged in yield between 976 and 1,297 pounds of seed 

 cotton per acre, a difference of 321 pounds between the lowest and 

 highest yielding variety. It should be noted in this connection that the 

 highest yielding strains produced a shorter fiber. 



In a comparison of five strains of Cleveland Big Boll and six strains 

 of King it was found that strains of the same variety may differ in 

 character of plant, size of boll, shape of leaf and yield. Variety names 

 are, therefore, not safe guides to good seed. The best way to be sure 

 of a good strain is to select good seed in the community where they are 

 to be grown. 



The variety test at the Iredell iarm contained twenty-one short-staple 

 varieties of cotton. These included the earliest medium boll and the 

 small boll varieties. In yielding capacity these varieties range between 

 370 and 1,261 pounds of seed cotton per acre, a difference of 891 pounds 

 per acre. This represents a difference in money value of about $40 

 per acre. 



Plans for Improving Our Cotton Varieties. 



The Experiment Station is now cooperating with organized groups 

 or communities of cotton growers for the purpose of improving the yield 

 and quality of cotton grown in the State. Two communities have 

 already started the work, and a third has just been organized. The 

 work can be done by any organized community of cotton growers. 



The best variety of cotton for a community is one that has been chosen 

 on account of its merits, and then further improved by selecting seed 

 from its best plants. With this in mind, the first part of the work 

 consists of a variety test to determine the best variety for the com- 

 munity. The best varieties in the community are grown along with a 

 few promising varieties from other sources. These varieties are grown 

 for comparison on one or more farms of the community. They are 

 tested in a field where each variety may have the same amount of fer- 

 tilizer and cultivation. Some member of the Experiment Station staff 

 will take notes at intervals during the growing period and at harvest 

 time. At harvest time each variety is picked separately and carefully 

 weighed. With the aid of the notes and data on yield and quality of 

 lint, tlie growers of the comnumity choose the variety that is to be 

 grown and improved. 



