Mary K. Bettendorf. Librarian. «kAftAKtf Agricultural Library v'O'yjfc ij. WUS® Ibe taa. State Vol. 111. No. 29. Results Show Wheel Track Planting Okay. After looking over the results, both in person and in print, it would seem that wheel track planting of corn has a place in I ancaster County and Southeast ern Pennsylvania But there are a couple of “If’s” tacked on. The fist thing to consider is the acreage to be planted on the farm II the acreage is limited, then the cost of modifing quipment prob ably will be prohibitive If time and labor aie no prob lem in the spring, there is little to be gained Most savings are in labor costs, although fuel and depreciation are cut. And if you operate the tractor yourself. Narrowing the rear wheels means that the tractor is much less stable. If your tractor operators are inexperienced or tend'to be careless, accidents will happen. For a copy of the University of V/isconsm report mentioned in the accompanying article, write to Juhn T Murdock, extension soils specialist, College of Agriculture, University of Wisconsin, Madison. Ask for Wheel Track Corn Plant ing, Cirelar 559. TWICE OVER A field is sufficient when using the wheel tiack method of planting corn. Using a four row planter, the planting tractor can keep up with the plow tractor. It is advised that the ground be plowed not more than 12 hours before planting time. (LF Photo) Quarryville (Lancaster County) Pa., Friday, May 30, 1958 NOTICE THAT A good job of plowing puts a field in better shape than you might imagine for corn planting The planter follows the furrows, thus giving a greater A Lancaster Farming Report Wheel Track Planting Cuts Costs From the Midwest during the past couple of years has come a lot of talk and advice, most of it' favorable, about “wheel-track planting” of corn To find out how good this method is, and how well it might apply to Southeastern Pennsyl vania conditions and methods, we last week visited Hill Girt Farms, Chadds Ford, in Delaware Coun ty At this sprawling dairy farm 1,500 acres manager George Newlin is using the wheel-track method for the second year About 130 acres of corn are plant ed annually on the farm, most of its for use as silage. NEWLIN SAID that he fust heard of the method through e national farm magazine With labor costs highly erodable steep lard and the need for speeding the planting operation as mein ti\es, he decided to give the meth od a trial The results, while not specta cular, were gratifing Of couise. last year no corn yields in the Southeastern part of the state were outstanding. Getting a crop ac all was gratifing to many' farmers Most of the 130 acres of corn was planted using the wheel tiack method One field was pre pared using more conventional methods Newlin said that yields were better on the roughly pre pared fields because what little rain fell soaked into the ground HERE IS HOW he is doing it this year Six hundred pounds of 10-10-10 are applied as a plow-down after manuring The ground is plowed using a three botom mounted plow Following closely behind the plow is a specially modified trac tor pulling a four-row planter equipped with 2,4-D spray no?- zles Some 250 to 300 pounds ol 618-18 are applied in the row The rate of planting is 16,000 stalks to the acre After the corn is up, it is spray ed again to kill weeds in the mid dle of the row Only after the corn is knee high is it cultivated, and then only once. supply of moisture to the seedlings. Nozzles mounted be hind the planter press wheels are used to apply 2,4-D pre-emergence spray in a band along the row. CULTIVATION MUST be de layed this long to allow the plow ed-down weeds and sod to deterio rate so that they will not hang on the cultivator sweeps. Equipment modification, espe cially the tractor used for plant ing, is the largest item to consid er if you are planning to use this method. The University of Wisconsin, Madison, in a new bulletin, 1 M heel Track Corn Planting,” (Circular 559) lists at least six modifications that can be made to row-ci op tractors to use the wheel-track method The modification adopted by Newlin for a four-row planter is one of those listed. USING A MODEL H Farmall tractor, fne rear wheels were set in to 40 inch centers He then pm cl.ased a wide front axle for the ti actor This axle is still too nai row for the width required, so an extension was welded into it to make the tires 120 inches be tween centers This allows a 44 inch spacing between the center two rows and 3” inch rows on the other two This is done to get a better match between corn planter and rear wheel tread These spacings still permit the use of a four-row cul tivator and a two-row picker. Two barrels of spray material mounted alongside the engine give added weight on the front wheels The front tires are over size, fluid filled, and have 26 pound weights on them This seems to compace the ground suf ficiently. THE WISCONSIN report, issu ed after four years of trials by farmers and research stations, points out that wheel-track plant ing will save 40 per cent of the cost of planting an acre of corn. The savings are made in the cost of dy ting, harrowing and in. the elimination of one cultiva-1 lion However the use of pre-em-i eigence spray and a post-emer , gtnce spray and the cost of equip ment is not considered Soil conservation and weed control are two very distinct ad \ antages of the method I There is less soil compaction because fewer tillage operations are required The loose soil left between the rows absorb more moisture and runoff is greatly re duced Eiosion may also be re duced on old hay and pasture fields because the sod cover is left on the field longer WITH CONVENTIONAL seed bed preparation, weeds normally have a one to two week “head stait” on the coin Thus, it is usually necessary to cultivate corn when it is still very small Cultivation during this early stage of growth may kill many corn plants unless ■ done with utmost care With wheel track planting, however, the corn ai d weed seeds in the row germinate at the same time Weed seeds in the loose soil between the wheel tracks remain dormant until rains thoroughly moisten the surface soil layer Therefore, corn is usually six to 12 inches high before cultivation is necessary The Wisconsin tests have shown that yields have been equal to or slightly higher than the conven tional The increased yields can be traced duectly to better plant population Higher geim ination additional water from increased absorption and better weed con- Uol gave this greater population HERE ARE SOME pointers for vi heel-track planting Deep plowing (seven to nine inches), and a good job of plow ing is absolutely nccessan Plant soon after plowing If not the topsoil will diy and reduce germination Compact adequately At least a two-bottom plow ti actor is necessary Over-compaction has been found to be no problem When planting on contour strips, use a side lull-hitch attach ment to permit the planter to trail 11 the ti actor tracks (Continued on page 13) S 2 Per Year
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers