8 CIECULAR NO. 121, BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY. 



strength of fiber. Irregularity of any sort is of much more serious 

 consequence in the case of long-staple than in short-staple cottons.^ 



Water should be given the jjlants as they require it rather than at 

 stated intervals. The grower should be able to tell by the a])pear- 

 ance of the plants when they need water. Slight waiting at midday 

 during very hot weather is not an indication that the plants are 

 suffering for water if they freshen up in the evening and morning. 

 It should be kept in mind by all cotton growers that overwatering 

 may cause damage from wliich the plants mil be unable to recover 

 because of the destruction of the tip buds of the stem and branches 

 which continue the growth. 



Land containing a quantity of humus, such as lands wliich were 

 heavily covered with brush previous to reclamation or old alfalfa 

 sod lands, wiU produce Durango cotton of better character than 

 lands which are poor in humus or which have been previously over- 

 cropped. The cotton industry of the Imperial Valley would profit 

 greatly if all Durango cotton this season could be planted on alfalfa 

 sod land. Not only would this guarantee a larger crop and more 

 clean seed for use in 1914, but better and more valuable fiber. 



It can be foreseen that not all who plant Durango cotton this 

 season will produce a satisfactory crop. The best grown Durango, 

 which will yield over a bale per acre of excellent fiber, must be used 

 as a basis for judging the crop value of Durango cotton. It must 

 not be lost sight of that the failure to plant on good land or the fail- 

 ure to water in a way to provide normal growth is conducive in the 

 case of long-staple cotton not only to shortage of the crop, but to 

 unevenness and shortness of the fiber. 



PREPARATION OF LAND. 



Success has been attained by following widely different methods 

 of planting, cultivation, and irrigation of cotton in the Imperial 

 Valley. This is largely due to the great variations in soil and partly, 

 no doubt, to the fact that water for irrigation has been practically 

 unhmited as yet. It has been possible to apply sufficient water to 

 grow a crop of cotton without conserving the moisture by cultivation. 



The growing of Upland cotton under irrigation is at best still in 

 the experimental stage. It is highly probable that methods of cotton 

 culture in the Imperial Valley may be materially changed during the 

 next few years. Changes which will bring about the production of a 

 uniform quality of cotton will be of great value to the industry. 

 The following cultural suggestions may serve to promote proper 

 adjustments in the methods of cotton culture under irrigation. 



' Cook, O. F. Cotton improvement under wee\'il conditions. V. S. Department of Agriculture, Farm- 

 ers' Bulletin ."ifll, p. 14-1.'). 



Cook, O. F. Results of cotton experiments in 1>)1 1. IT. S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant 

 Industry, Circular 96, p. 6-7. 

 fCir. 121] 



