BOLL-WEEVIL COTTON IN TEXAS. 9 



FEASIBILITY OF WIDER LANES. 



Since the results of 1921 showed that plants spaced at 6 inches 

 might still grow into rather rank boll-weevil cotton, still closer spac- 

 ing in the rows to 4 inches or less may prove desirable. One ques- 

 tion to be determined is whether there is a practical advantage in 

 chopping or pulling out any of the plants. Unless the stands are 

 very thick and the plants likely to become very spindling or stunted 

 for lack of moisture, no thinning may be necessary or give any ad- 

 vantage in yield. 



In the dry wind-swept regions of the Southwest the young plants 

 grow better in the spring if they stand close together in the rows. 

 Very large yields as well as very early crops have been obtained 

 from small plants only 3 or 4 inches apart and also from rows that 

 have not been thinned. Some plants in these rows remain very small 

 and bear only one or two bolls or none at all, but these presumably 

 include the weaker plants that would have borne little if they had 

 been left in the usual thinning. It usually is possible to find many 

 unproductive or completely sterile plants in fields of cotton, even 

 with wide spacing. 



Kows thinned early to 3 or 4 inches should be compared with no 

 thinning to learn the actual results under the Texas conditions and to 

 determine definitely whether advantages are gained by thinning. If 

 thinning can be omitted labor and expense will be saved, and there 

 may be a distinct cultural advantage in avoiding the setback that 

 the plants are likely to receive from injuries in the thinning opera- 

 tion and in the greater exposure to wind or other unfavorable con- 

 ditions that often interrupt the growth of young cotton if thinned 

 too early and spaced widely. The feasibility of wide lanes is not 

 to be determined without a clear understanding of the effects of 

 close spacing in the rows as an essential feature of an open-lane 

 culture for avoiding boll-weevil cotton. 



With complete loss of the crop as a frequent penalty enforced by 

 the boll weevils if the lanes are not kept open, many farmers may be 

 inclined to test for themselves the feasibility of wider lanes, such 

 as 4| or 5 feet, but in all such cases, to gain experience of practical 

 value, the spacing of the plants in the rows should be taken into 

 account. 



FACTORS OF THE SPACING PROBLEM. 



Careful consideration needs to be given to the spacing problem, 

 because numerous factors are involved and wide variations of soil 

 and seasonal conditions must be taken into account, especially in 

 southern Texas. Questions of spacing may have a special impor- 

 tance in this region because it is less feasible to hold the weevils in 

 check by poisoning. Regular use of poison is hardly to be expected 

 in Texas in districts where the weather often is dry enough to sup- 

 press the weevils 



In some pails of Texas there is little or no dew to moisten the 

 leaves and hold the poison, which is applied as a fine dust. More- 

 over, the use of poison is not considered economical on cotton that is 

 not expected to yield more than half a bale per acre. Low yields are 

 the general rule in the drier districts of Texas, even when the boll 

 weevils do little or no damage. One of the compensating advantages, 

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