Rice Production in Southwestern Louisiana 
11 
rowed immediately. This tillage is necessary to retain the soil mois- 
ture, which evaporates rapidly under the action of the winds at this 
season of the year. Under normal weather conditions, more labor 
is required in preparing the Crowley silt loam when plowed in spring 
than when plowed in winter. 
One object in plowing land for rice is to put the soil in such a con- 
dition that it may be easily prepared for conserving the needed 
moisture and heat for germination. Plowing in late autumn or early 
winter to a depth of 5 to 7 inches usually leaves the soil in a better 
physical condition for tillage. It also provides for a greater aeration 
of the soil and a greater feeding area for the rice plants than when 
the land is plowed to the depth of 2 to 3 inches. During a dry period 
following seeding there also is less loss of moisture on the land that 
is deeper prepared than on the shallow preparation. The deeper 
soil preparation insures a more thorough destruction of perennial 
weeds, better germination, a better stand, a stronger root growth, and 
a greater yield. 
• Data showing the results of an experiment on varying the depth 
of plowing are given in Table 7. In this experiment the seed was 
sown approximately May 1 on a smooth seed bed by a drill to the 
depth of 2 inches at the rate of 80 pounds per acre. These data show 
that in each year during the 4-year period from 1917 to 1920, in- 
clusive, greater yields were obtained from the deeper than from the 
more shallow plowing. The average increase in yield from deeper 
plowing was 395 pounds of rice per acre. 
Table 7. — Annual and average yields of Wataribune rice obtained in the depth- 
of-ploimng experiments at the Rice Experiment Station, Crowley, La., dur- 
ing the 4-year period from 1917 to 1920, inclusive 
Depth of plowing 
Yields per acre (pounds) 
1917 
1918 
1919 
1920 
Average 
2 to 3 inches .- . -- . 
1,600 
1,780 
2,500 
2,760 
1,200 
1,680 
1,380 
2,040 
1,670 
2,065 
DISKING AND HARROWING 
In southwestern Louisiana there is a tendency to grow the rice 
crop with a minimum of preparation. To determine the extent of 
preparation which may be required, an experiment including smooth 
and rough seed beds was conducted at the Kice Experiment Station. 
A smooth seed bed was prepared by first dragging, in early spring, 
the land which had been plowed during the previous winter to a 
depth of 5 to 7 inches. Immediately after dragging, the land was 
double-disked and harrowed. Later it was dragged and double- 
disked a second time. Just before the seed was sown the land was 
dragged again and harrowed. A rough seed bed was prepared by 
giving one dragging, double-disking, and harrowing. In this experi- 
ment the seed was sown approximately May 1 with a drill to a depth 
of 2 inches at the rate of 80 pounds per acre. Data obtained in the 
seed-bed preparation experiment are given in Table 8, 
