116 FIELD CROPS FOR THE COTTON-BELT 



of 5 feet or in some cases 6 feet between rows is advisable. 

 Tests conducted by the Mississippi Experiment Station 

 on the rich delta soils averaging one bale per acre indicate 

 that best results are obtained when the cotton is grown 

 in four foot rows with the plants 2}/ feet apart in the row, 

 or 10 square feet of surface for each plant. 



137. Distance between plants in the row. The 

 general tendency of cotton-farmers is to unduly crowd 

 the plants in the row. The same conditions govern the 

 spacing of plants in the row as determine the distance 

 between rows. When cotton is planted in 3J/ foot rows 

 on poor upland soils, the distance between plants in 

 the row should not be less than 12 inches. As the fer- 

 tility of the soil increases, the distance between plants 

 should also increase. On very productive alluvial soils 

 a spacing of 24 or 30 inches is advisable. On soils of 

 medium productiveness a spacing of 18 or 20 inches be- 

 tween plants usually gives best results. Experience and 

 experiments have demonstrated the fact that when the 

 plants are unduly crowded, the number of bolls to a plant 

 is greatly decreased. 



