TO OUR FRIENDS AND CUSTOMERS THROUGHOUT THE SOUTH 
It is generally agreed that 
the complete mechanization 
of cotton growing, long 
thought to be desirable, is 
now recognized as a practical 
necessity if we are to success- 
fully overcome increased la- 
bor and production costs. In 
order to find out firsthand 
about the possibilities of com- 
plete mechanization of cotton 
growing, we conducted a 25- 
acre pilot farm study during 
the 1952 season on our own 
farms in the Pee Dee area of 
the Coastal Plains section of 
South Carolina. Our results 
indicate that complete mech- 
anization of cotton produc- 
tion may soon be a reality. 
Two combinations of treat- 
ments were compared: partial 
mechanization and complete 
mechanization. In both com- 
binations the land was pre- 
pared and the crop was 
planted, fertilized, cultivated and sprayed for insect control 
with a four-row tractor and equipment. The partially-mecha- 
nized plots were hand hoed and hand picked. The fully- 
mechanized plots were treated with pre-emergence and post- 
emergence chemicals, flamed with a flame cultivator, and 
picked with a spindle-type picker. Chloro-IPC was applied 
as a pre-emergence material on 20 acres of the completely 
mechanized plot, and Dinitro was applied on 5 acres. A post- 
emergence material, Esso Weed Killer 38, was applied to the 
5 acres which had been treated with the Dinitro. The com- 
pletely mechanized plot was flamed 6 times and there was no 
hand hoeing in it. For comparative production costs see 
page 17. 
ROBERT R. COKER 
President and Treasurer 
Due to this limited experience with pre-emergence chemicals 
and inadequate experimental data, it is not yet possible to 
recommend their general use to replace conventional weed 
control measures in cotton production. However, it was 
clearly demonstrated in these studies that cotton can be pro- 
duced practically, more efficiently, and cheaper when all steps 
are mechanized by the use of tractor equipment, pre- 
emergence and post-emergence herbicides, flame cultivation, 
chemical defoliation, and mechanical picking. 
Sincerely, 
Robert R. Coker 
Long ago our breeders de- 
veloped, by hybridization and 
subsequent selection, new cot- 
ton varieties that were im- 
provements in yield, picking 
quality, regional adaptation, 
staple length, lint percentage, 
boll size, and earliness. By 
extensive testing on infested 
soils we developed wilt-resis- 
tant varieties that produced 
highest yields of superior 
quality cotton on soils in- 
fested with wilt and on wilt 
free soils. This work has been 
continued with a most grati- 
fying continual improvement 
in the performance of Coker 
100 Wilt strains. 
Since 1941, in addition to 
employing the methods out- 
lined above, we have made 
full use of fiber technology in 
our breeding programs. The 
establishment of a Fiber 
Testing Service by the U. S. 
Department of Agriculture provided, on a fee basis, facilities 
for determining the quality of fiber produced by our breeding 
stocks. These services have made possible the development of 
Coker 100 Wilt with its outstanding fiber and spinning quali- 
ties and milling performance. In our breeding program we 
obtain, in addition to knowledge concerning the agronomic 
characteristics of our cottons, data on the fiber tensile 
strength, upper-half-mean and mean lengths, length uniform- 
ity, fineness, maturity, yarn strength, yarn appearance, and 
mill performance. 
J. WINSTON NEELY 
Vice-President, Director of Plant 
For many years we have devoted a great deal of effort 
toward the development of a cotton that would be well 
adapted to mechanized production. As a result there is no 
other variety better adapted to mechanized production than 
is Coker 100 Wilt. 
It affords us a feeling of genuine pride to offer Coker 100 
Wilt 1952 Breeder’s Registered Seed because in this out- 
standing variety we have attained the best combination of 
desirable characteristics that we have been able to breed into 
a single variety during our many years of plant breeding 
effort. 
Sincerely, 
J. Winston Neely 
This picture shows a view of a variety test of Coker 100 Wilt conducted at Chester, South Carolina, in 
1952. Coker’s Pedigreed Seed Company conducts similar tests at other locations throughout the Cotton 
Belt from the Carolinas to Arkansas. 
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Breeding and Agricultural Research 
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