6 MAINE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 



treated oats should always be put back into bags which have 

 been soaked in the solution. Otherwise there is danger of rein- 

 fection with spores clinging to the bags. 



This method has proved very successful. There have been 

 practically no smutted heads in any of our plots or fields. 



Eradication of Mustard and Other Weeds. 



Weeds are often a serious pest in oat fields. It is not unusual 

 for the' yield to be decreased as much as 25 per cent by weeds. 

 In addition to this the seeds of many weeds are so nearly the 

 same weight and size as the oat kernels that it is impossible to 

 separate them by the ordinary fanning mill. Every farmer 

 should see to it that his seed oats are free of weed seeds. 



The best method of eradicating weeds in the field is by hand 

 pulling. However, where weeds are very abundant this is a 

 tedious and expensive operation. It has been estimated that 50 

 per cent of the oat acreage in Maine is so badly infested with 

 noxious weeds that hand pulling cannot be resorted to with 

 profit. * 



The most noxious weeds in our grain fields are those belong- 

 ing to the mustard family including wild mustard, wild radish, 

 and wild turnip. It is impossible to separate these seeds from 

 oats or barley by even the most improved fanning mill. If these 

 weeds are allowed to mature and are harvested with the grain 

 it means again seeding the fields with these weeds or else the 

 continued purchase of seed grain. 



Experiments reported in Bulletin 224 of this Station show 

 that it is possible to satisfactorily control not only wild mustard 

 but also wild radish and wild turnip by spraying with iron 

 sulphate. It is of the utmost importance to spray the plants 

 while they are small and before the buds form. They should 

 not be in more than the third or fourth leaf, for if they are 

 much larger than that there is danger that the plants will not be 

 killed but only injured by the spray. The plants should be so 

 small that they can be completely covered by an ordinary drink- 

 ing tumbler. 



Dissolve 100 pounds iron sulphate in 70 gallons of water, or 

 70 pounds in 50 gallons, as is most convenient. Apply at the 

 rate of about 70 gallons per acre. Use a powerful pump and 

 have the pressure at least 60 pounds. Use a fine nozzle. This 



