6—Lancaster Farming. Saturday, March 10, 1973
From Local Aa Teachers:
The article for this week was
prepared by James W. Hilton,
teacher of agriculture at Penn
IVlannr High School. JVfillersville.
Well boys, spring is right
iround the corner and it will soon
he tune to put all those well-laid
plans into operation for top yields
for the 197.3 corn crop. Alter all
those hours you’ve spent
calculating crop acreages, soil
capabilities, plant populations,
fertilizer requirements, pesticide
uses seed, variety and equip
ment needs, don’t get caught
behind the eight-ball with a
poorly adjusted planter.
Tests have shown that planned
plant populations and actual field
populations can cut that margin
of profit severely and at most
limes may be attributed to
planter failures. So let’s get that
planter out and get ready to plant
following these six easy steps:
After you have set your plant
population goals and checked the
planter for worn or broken parts,
locate and read the owners
manual which came with your
planter The owners manual tells
vou how to adjust your planter to
obtain the correct population It
is also an excellent guide for
determining planter speed for a
given planting rate. Do not ex
ceed the maximum planting
speed recommended in the
manual If you do, the seed plate
will turn too fast for accurate
planting and uniform kernel
spacing
Field tests have shown that an
THERE'S NEVER AN
"OFF-SEASON"
FOR THIS SYSTEM
£<9bo|;‘
ORDINARY planters are pulled out of storage for a
few days each spring . . . then it’s back into the shed
to wait for another season.
Not so with the AUis-Chalmers 600 Series No-Til
Planting System. Its season spans more months and
more crops than a patch of Canadian thistles.
No-Til farmers are adopting double and triple
cropping practices previously thought impossible. And
they’re discovering new uses for the System every day.
If youi present planter is wasting away its summers
in the shed, take a look at our all-season 600 Series
System. No telling what No-Til farming can do for you.
L. H. Brubaker
Lancaster, Pa.
Roy H. Buck, Inc.
Ephrata, R.D 2
A ALLIS-CHALMERS
AGRICULTURAL EQUIPMENT
Thoughts
in Passing
■.j’k
James Hilton
increase of two miles per hour
over recommended planter
speeds may reduce initial plant
populations by more than 2,000
plants per acre. Planting speeds
may be determined by driving
your tractor between two
markers spaced 176’ apart while
observing the time required to
cover the distance. The following
table may be used to convert the
time in seconds to miles per hour.
Time to Drive 176’ Speed
102 seconds i mile per hour
60 seconds 2 mph
40 seconds 3 mph
30 seconds 4 mph
24 seconds 5 mph
20 seconds 6 mph
17 seconds 7 mph
15 seconds 8 mph
Rnimslii Farm Service
Quarryville, Pa.
Nissley Farm Service
Washington Boro, Pa.
BHM Farm Equipment, Inc.
Annville, R.D. l. Pa.
The second step in achieving
your planned population is to
match the seed to the seed plate.
To obtain the planned plant
population you need to have a 100
percent cell fill of the seed plate.
In selecting the correct seed
plate, check the seed plate
recommendation on your bag of
seed corn. Even small variations
between seed and seed plates can
result in serious planting errors.
The third step is to adjust your
planter tor the desired planting
rate using the information found
in your owners manual.
The fourth step involves the
checking of the adjusted planter
over a distance equal to a known
portion of an acre. This distance
may be calculated or taken from
a table similar to the one below
which is based on l-200th of an
acre:
Row Spacing Distance to Drive
20” 130’8”
.30” 87’1”
36” 72’7”
38”
40”
42”
68’9”
65’4”
62’3”
From this simple check several
things may be observed:
l. Note the number of kernels
dropped per row. This figure
averaged and multiplied by 200
should equal the planned plant
population.
RED ROSE FARM SERVICE, INC.
FARMER
MR.
Spring Seeding Time is
Just Around the Corner
FOLLOW
THESE THREE IMPORTANT
SUCCESSFUL CROP YEAR.
STEPS
A s®**- TESTING Be sure that your Fertilizer and Lime
requirements are at the proper level.
I
I
SEEDS Our stores are stocked with the finest in quality
Alfalfas-Clovers-Grasses-Seed-Oats-Northrup King and Pioneer
Seed Corn varieties. "Have you heard about WL-305 ALFALFA?"
CHEMICALS Protect your crops from weed and insect
damage, we stock a complete selection of weed and insect control
chemicals..
STOP AT ONE Of OUR CONVEN/ENTIY lOCATEO fAR/M STORES TODAY.
MAIN OFFICE:
N. Church St
Quarryviite
786-7361
Red Rose
ANIMAL FEEDS
2. Note the spacing of the
kernels which should be uniform.
3. Note the condition of the
kernels dropped - cracked ker
nels indicate the wrong size
planter plates.
4. Check planting speed and
make necessary adjustments.
5. Insure your planned plant
population by allowing about a
three percent overage in
calculating the seed drop.
The fifth step is to make a field
check. In doing this, dig out
several feet or row and note the
kernel spacing and compare this
with the spacing found in the
Aerial Ladder Equipped
FARM PAINTING
We Spray it on and Brush It In!
FOR FREE ESTIMATES
CALL COLLECT 717-393-6530
ORWRITE
HENRY K. FISHER
2322 Old Phila. Pike
Lancaster, Pa. 17602
Free Soil Testing Service Available
Bulk Fertilizer, Liquid Nitrogen and Lime
Spreading Service Available
Three Steps to Success
AGRICO Fertilizers - Bag or Bulk
Quality Seed and Grains
Proper Chemical Controls
GRAIN ELEVATOR
New Providence
786-3427
previous check. Make necessary
adjustments to achieve the
desired population.
The sixth and final step is done
after the plants have emerged
and is an important step to be
used in figuring the next years
plan During this fipal step count
the number of emerged plants in
a given length of row (table 2)
and compare it to the planned
population and the final harvest
population (found when making
that all-important yield check.)
0 K , let’s get out that planter
and clean it up, adjust those
plates, and shoot for top yields
from that acre.
Agricoffi}
_ Tm
ONE OF THE WILLIAMS COMPANIES
A good name to grow by
BUCK, PA.
284-4464