Circular [Jan. 1918]

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Georgia
State Board of Entomology
E. LEE WORSHA M, State Entomologist

CIRCULAR 26

JANUARY 1918

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MAINTAINING THE PURITY
OF
COTTON SEED

By
C. A. McLENDON,
E xpe rt in C otton Bre eding
SEP 15 1938 Uf';VtfS -1 OF G~on "\A

ATLANTA

GEORGIA

GEORGIA STATE BOARD OF ENTOMOLOGY
ORGANIZATION
110;-':. ,I. .J. IHWW N
Cha ir m a n , Co nu uissio ner of Agr icu lt u r e, Atlauta
u ox . H. C. I{ EH CIDIAN~ ,
Au gu st a .
liO N. .1:\0. J\ . c n UH, A tuc r ic us .
E. LEE \VOH~lIA~1
or S l' cl't.~t al,\' th e llon r .], ~( atl~ E ut omu log ist , A tlau tu .
A. C. I ,EW I S, J\ ss is la ll1 ~ t a !l~ En t om o lo gis t, At lant n.
W . V. REE D, A ss ist ant E n t Oilio logi st, A t lnut a .
W. \V . C ll A ~ E, A ssist ant En t om ol o gi st , Atlanta .
L W . WILI-lIAl\IS, Cotton S pe c ia list, At lanta.
C. 1\ . McLENDON , Ex pert in Cott on ll ru crlin g, At lant a .
W . F . TURNER, A ssist ant Entomo lo gist , Thoma sv ill e.

MAINTAINING THE PURITY OF COTTON SEED
Hr C. A. :JIcL endon.
Exp ert in Cott on B re ed in g.
Importance of P ur e Seed
Pu r e seed is uniform in gcn crn l a ppcara n ce a n d wh en gro wn a pp ro xima te ly a ll th e pl a n ts arc alike in cvc r y r es pect. In ma k ing a su ccessfu l fight on t he b oll w eevil a bo ut one-ha lf of th e fig ht cons ists in m erely th e usc of pure see d of su it a b le variet ies. U n de r boll-w eevil co n d it io ns every plant g r o w n should p r od uc e a maximum a mo u nt of , good cott on . No oth er f a ct or in th e p r odu ct ion of cot t o n con t ri bu t es so 11lI'g p]y to wa rd s this end a s d oes th e u se of p u rv seed of tl u- right variet ies, a pra ct ice w hi ch ca n be fo ll ow ed by e very fa t-mer, w it h p ra ctica lly no .('x t r a efl'ot-t 0 1' ex pe nse. No matt er how ri ch th e soi l or ho w w el l it is prcpu r cd a nd c u lt iva te d tl u -r w ill always b e a larg e perce ntage of n on-pr odu ct iv e p lan ts present unless pure seed of a locall y- a d ap t ed variety is IIS<' l1. P u r e seed is just as importan t in th e produ ction of co tt on a s it is in growin g whea t , oats, or any other cr op, in which purity is a bsolut el y ess entia l , and n ot u n til th e farm ers r ea lize t he imp or tance of u si n g on ly p ure se ed of t h e ri gh t va r iet ies wi ll t hey d er iv e th e most p oss ibl e fr om t hcir f armi ng op erutious, esp ecinllv und er th e present con d ition s . In gr ow ing th e st a ple cottons s uccessf'u llv t he u sc of pur e p la nting sped is nb so lu t ely essen t ia l, a s th e r equired uui fo ri nit v of t he length and qu al it v of t he stap le wi ll n ot obt a in when im pure s pp(l of t h ese va r ieties is p la n t ed .
Contra ry t o t he p r eva ilin g bc liof a mon g fa r mers th a t even p ure seed w ill " r un ou t " w it hin a \'(' 1'," s hor t pe r iod, it wil l r emain pure indefinit ely if prop erl y ca l'pd for in th e field , in handling, in st or a g e, an d in th e g in n ing o pera t io n. T he purp oses of th is circu la r arc to e x p la in how sl'el1 hl' COIll CS IIliXP (1 in t he us ua l m eth od s of g r ow ing and luun llin g it and 10 .o fl'er prev entiv e m easures fo r m a in t ain ing' it s pu rit v .
Crossing by Bees and Other Insects
Natural crossing of co tt on is ('ffcct ed h v t he tran sfer of poll en by b ees and ot he r in sects f'r om th e blo oms o f on e vur ipt)' t o th ose of a not h er ki nd. Th e ont umiu nt iou o f t h
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seed fr om t his source is es t imated Ircm on e t o te n pe r ce nt ., d epen di n g; of course, on t h e isola ti on of vnt-ict ies in t lufield, t he season, and t he num b er of in sect s p r esent , hil t it in crea ses v crv r apidly in additi onal (, I' OSSCS a n d in th e m u lti pli ca tion of th e ones already f orm ed . U n les this crossi ng is preven t ed th e pu r es t seed ohtu inu hl v wi ll " 1'I1ll ou t " w it hiu a p eri od of three or fou r yeurs.
Plantin g seed sh ould always b e produ ced on a sm a ll nren known a s th e see d p at ch , a n d in or.l er to prev ent nuturul cr oss in g by b ees and ot h e r in sect s it is ne cpss a l'~- th at t h la nd selected fo r th is pu rpose h e lo cat ed at a distan ce of fift y or m ore ~' ar d s f rom that on w hi ch an y oth er vm -iety of cott on is t o h e g ro w n. It s ho u ld a lw ny s h e of s u f f ic ien t size t o produce en ough w ell -m a tured sc ell to pl ant ti ll' e u t irc cr op of t h e farm th e fo llowing sea son.
The siz e a nd loca t ion of the see d pn t ch hayin g b een d ete r min ed , as s ugges t ed , t h e ne xt stl 'p co ns ists in ch oosin g th e va ri uty of cott on to g ro w a nd th e puri t v of w h ic h is to 1)(' maint ain ed. U po n r equ est: ex pe rts of th is d epa rtm ent wil l g la d ly assi st t h e farm ers in m a k in g t h e ri ght de cis ion as 10 th e b es t v a ri et ies to u se a n d r efer t hmn to rvl inbl e sources of pure seed of t he k in ds d ecid ed u po n, if they d o not happen to have pure sverl of them on h and fr om t he cr op of th e prc viou s se ason.
T hi n th e cot t on in I he s eed pat ch 10 on e p la n t ever v two or three f eet in t h e dril l, so that ea ch in di vi dual will ha ve su f f ic ie n t r oom in whi ch t o dp \'e!o p n orm ul ly . T o p r ev en t und esirabl e cr oss es by in sect s wi thin t he seed pa t ch it sh ou ld b e gon e ov er from t im e to t im e a ll d u ri n g th e g r ow in g seaso n t o d es t r oy th e inferior and o ff-ty p plants. T hi s r og uin g'. a s it is u su all v t er m ed , s hou ld begin jusf. b ef or o a ny blooms a p pea r and cont in uo until h loom ing cea ses or un ti l a ll of t h l' und esi r abl e pl ant s h ave ber-n p u ll ed ou t in t h is w av. In m aintn ini n g t h e p u ritv of t ho see d this process is j us t as im p ort an t as th e p rop el' loca tion of t h o sr rd p a tc h .
In th e purest see d ohtu in a bl o th ere w ill iuv m-ia bl v he uud esira hl e typ c present , a n d in t he rn gu in g process some pl ants of th ese tv pes w il l n a tu r allv he over loo ke d. Th e-refo r e, in orcin to h e abso lut ely co r t uiu of m aintai ning' t h purity of t he seed in t h e field , in uddi t ion to th e m eas u r es a l1'1',)(1)" suggeste d , it is n ecessnr v each y ca r to ob ta in t h planting spe d f or th e s(,l' d pat ch th e fnll owiu g se aso n l'rruu on ly th e Yen' b est pla n ts, A s uffi cient mnu h cr of g ood . r'lI'I.\pl an ts of the p r eva il in g t ,\'pc ill th e p at ch should Ill' t agg-I'd ab ou t th e ti me th o cot t on b cgiu s t o op en. a nd t lro h ost of th es e plant s pi ck ed ah pa d of th e r egul ur pi ck ers at I'al' h o r th e m ain pi ckiu g's until t h e r equired a mou ut of sl'p d h a s hor-n o b t a i n ed.
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Mixin g of Seed Cot to n an d Seed in Handling an d Sto r ing
Mixture of s eed co tton n eurI v a lw nYS ocell i'S w h en I lu pickers are t ran sf ci-red f ro m one 'fi (~ld to a no t h er a ll whi ch a d iffer en t variety is grown , Mixiu g ill th is \\'a ,\' ca n be " a s i l ~' p r even t ed in seeing that all t h e pi cking b ags. sh r l't s, :11 11 .\ b ask ets are entirely cuipt icd IJl' for c mnkiu g t he tru usf'cr. Mi x ture of di fferen t ki nd s occ urs verv ofte n ill h uu liu g 0 1' oth erwise tra n sferr -ing seed cot to n and see d, <lnd this a lso ca n h e preven t ed by ha yin g all w ugou s or conta ine r's thorou ghly clea n ed b e fore h an dli n g ea ch lot of cotton 01' S('('l!. T oo much care ca n n ot h e exe rc ise d in h and li ng t he seed COltO Il and se ed, as mixin g ca ll so easily occu r in this wa y.
U sua ll y, t h e seed cott on , an d lat er th e seed , of th e diffL' l;l:nl varieties gro wn is s tored in a d joining' stalls. co mpartm e nts, 0 1' u nl ock ed r001llS , or in separa t e Jots 0 11 a eOl11 111011 f lo or of t lug in hou se, barn , or s om e oth er out b u ildi ng, in all of which m ethods of storing ac cide n t a l m ixiu g of til e se ed is in e v it a h !o b ef ore i t is p lant ed t h e Iol lowin g SpaSOl1. Am p le and \\'(.\\ co nstru ct ed st orage s pa ce fo r t he s(,l'd COlt OIl a ud p lalltill g' seed of t h e d iffer ent variet ies g'1'O\\'1I s ho u ld h e pr ovid ed ill separat e room s at a di stance f'rom eac h ot h er in t h e sa me buildin g, or in sma ll se p a r a t ed ho uses. T he r oom 0 \' h ouse u sed fo r eac h k ind of cott on a n d seed sho uld be k ep t sc curcl v lock ed , an d no co tto n or seed p u t into 01' t ak ou out of it exce pt in th e prese nce of t h e k eep er. who sh ou ld b e t h orough l v r elia ble aud ma d e to unders ta nd t h e im port a nce o f k ee ping ea ch lot of see d se pa r a te in this w av,
Mixing of Seed in t he Ginn ing Oper ation
In th e usual pro cess of g in nin g' cattail m ix t ure of t hc d iffe r en t ki nd s handl ed in v a r ia bl v occu rs. Mi xt m -o occ u rs m ore or less fr om t h e tim e th e sl' ~' d cott on !l'a\,('s t h e \\'a g'oll u n ti l th e s eed is ret u rn ed t o it. M ost of t h e m ix iu sr in I lug in n ing op erat io n , h ow ev er, occ urs in t he r oll b ox 'a n d I hl' see d con ve vo r . C on t a m in a t ion of th e seed fr om th is sou re r is co ns er va t iv elv es t ima ted at fil'tccu pl'r co ut of th e sel'd g in n ed , a n d unl ess th e proper pre en u t ions a re t ul -n in th e g i nn in g oper atio n th e p urest se ed ohta in nh lo will " r n n ou t.' wi th in a p eriod of 1\\' 0 or th r oe y ours .
I n g in n ing t h c cott on from t h e seed pat ch or a nv oth er
so u r ce fro m w hi ch p lan t in g sep d is t o b e obtn i u cd th e fol low in g p r ecauti on s will h a ve to h e tak en , if t h e pUl'it y of t h see d is ma intai n ed at t h e gi n : l1l'fore g in n in g' PHch lot or vari otv of cott o n cle a n ali t as t ho ro u gh ly as p oss ibl e a ll s ue t ion flu es, cle a n ers, fl'p dC' r s. r oll ho x es , t h e se ed l'OIl\,P\'OI', a nd s eed h op p ers : and , t ho u , a ft er th e mac h i ue rv h a s ];ecn ru n for 1\\' 0 or three min u t es, r em o ve a ll th e s p('(] f r-om the' g ill

parts and th e floor of th e gin hou se. Som e gin s are provid ed w ith a board 01' metal sh eet w hich ca n be so adjust ed that th e :,wed as discharged f r om th e breasts of th e gin s will fall out o 1Ill' floo r in f ro nt of th e st a nds, wher e it ca n be collec te d in shl'cts 0 1' bag ged . This method is sa fe r than all owing t he sped 10 r ea ch th e hopp ers t h rough the conveyo r t ro ugh, whi ch is us ua l ly wry di fficult t o rid of seed.
Uules a privut o g iu uc ry is t o be used it is best to wait unt il 1lu- rush of th e gin ning season is oyer to have th e cott on fo r pla ntin g se ed gin ned , so that t he giu n er will have tim e to t nkc th e nccossarv precautions. III ma in tain ing t he purity of t he see d at th e gin th e complete co-op eration of th e ginn er is ubsolu t elv csse nt ial , and it is un r ea sonabl e to ex pect him to d l'la,\" his r egular g in ning for t his pu r pose, eve n if th e fnrmc r is willin g to pay him f or his ex t r a t ro ubl e. If th e pr op osi li on is t horoughl v ex pla ine d to t he ginn er so t hat he is mad e t o rva lize its imp or t an ce, not on ly to t he fann ers hu t also to himsvl f', he will usu a ll v be glad t o ass ist t hem in t his way, muk in g li t tl c or no cha rge for th e extra tro uble in volv ed . Th e f arm er s sh oul d rcu lize th e g iune rs ' position in this mutt er, a nd Ill' willin g to pay t hem for th e troub le of ca ri ng fo r t heir pla nting' seed at t he gill . Th e little ex t r a cha rge for gin nin g t he cotton as her e suggeste d is noth ing lI S comp are d wi th t he loss 1'1'sult in g wh en bad ly -mi xed see d is plant ed , or th e ex tra cost in buyin g pure see d e\'Cr y y ear.
Dilapi d ated g innery (i n bac kground ) replaced by an up -to -dare p l ant, hav ing two e ig hty-saw gin stands.
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F ew er vari eties of co t to n sho uld be pl a nt cd in ea cl: COI Il ruu n ity, a n d more p r ivat e gin n cr ies s imi lar t o t he on e shown in th e acco mpa ny ing figure shoul d b e in operation . This wi t hiu itsel f w ould largely obviat e t h e t rouble a nd ex pe nse involv ed in ma inta ining t he p ur-ity of th e seed, both in th e fie ld a nd a t t he gin. In t his see d probl em, as w ell as in a ll ot he rs of t il" fa rm er, co-ope rat ion is th e k eynot e of suc cess , a nd t he re is n o oth er eff or t 0 1' ex pe n se invo lv ed in con duc t in g a cotto n frn -m t hat is so fru it fu l of payi ng r esul t s as t hat d evot ed to mai nt a in in g th e puri ty of t h e pl an tin g seed . P ure seed wil l a lways mak e more cott on on th e sam e a cr eage, 01' t he sa m e cotton on less acreage, a nd wi th ou t a ny ex t r a exp en se exce pt t he sm a ll a mo u nt tha t t h e gin n er m ight ch arge f or gin n ing cott on fo r pl an tin g seed as h erein suggeste d.
Improvement of Existing Vari eties and Development of
New Ones
T he improv em ent of ex ist ing" vari eti es and th e d ev el opment of new OIH'S ca n h e successfu llv accomplish ed tluo u g h on ly cnrcf'ul a n d con ti nue d breedin g op era tions, and only eXjH']t ])l'e(,(lers a r c ca pa ble of con d uc t ing 0 1' directin g th is work. 'I'hcrc s hould h e a t least one progr essi ve farme r in ea ch 1'0111 111 1111i tY wh o w ould be willin g to car ry out bre eding op crut ion s with t his C1'O)", 1111<l er t h e direct ion of a n exp er t br eed er, so t hat in t ime all t he ot h er far mers of t he r es pective com mu n it ies would have easy access t o pure see d of vari eti es that a r c lo cally a da pt ed . E v en wh en all t h e precaut ions for mnint aini ng th e pm-ity of seed arc tak en , it is b est to t ak e advanta ge of th e improv ement s t hat ar e cons ta nt ly being mad e by th ese cx pcrts by usi n g som e of t he ir purest , im proved seed of th e va r ieties t ha t ha ve bern g iving t he best r esu lt s. This r cn cw a1 of sto ck s(,l'(l, h ow ever, is n ot n ecessarv mo r e t h a n on ce e ve ry t \I'O , j h ['1'<', fo u r, 01' fiv e y ears, d ep endin g , of cou rs e, on t he ca re t hu j ha s been tak en of t he plantin g seed .
Pro gr essive farm ers in ea ch of a gr eat ma ny connnu nit ies 01' th st ate ar c now co- op erati ng with th e Geor gi a Stat e Bmll"ll of Entomolo gy in improvin g a nd d ev el opin g vm-iet ics of cotto u suit ab le to gr ow und er th e present , l ocal co n d it ions. All of t h is wor k is con duc te d u n d er th e sup ervis ion of breedin g ex p ert s of t his d epartm ent, and t hese f arm ers a rc r etain ed as ou r co-ope r at ive breed er s onl y so lon g as t heir co-ope r at ion is comp le te ill eve ry r esp ect . Qu antiti es of pure a n d im pro v ed see d a re b ein g p rodu ced by th ese farm ers uunual ly , and some
of th ese farm s a rc now seed cen te r s from whi ch th e bes t ob ta inabl e see d is b ein g di stribut ed . Wh en a su f f icie n t numb er of th ese breeding cen te rs have b een est ablis he d and th e farm ers in gene r al r ealize th o imp ortan ce of pure see d eno ugh t o use
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1\\~~~\~\,rl~l~f\m~1\l~~\tf~fft~~\\1\
3 2108 05732 6004 r:
I
th e u ecessury p r ecau ti ons in maint a ining th e purit y of t he seed that th ese breed er s arc di st ribut in g th is seed probl em will ha ve been solved t o th e advanta ge of all conce r ne d ,
Information as to th e vari eties of cotton th at call be gr nwn most succ essfully und er t he ex ist in g con ditions , sour ces of pu r e, im proved see d of t he va ri et ies decid ed upon , and f ur the r suggest ions as to how th e purity of th e seed can be mainta in od will b e gladly f urn ished up on wr it ing t o th e Georgia Stut e Board of Ent omology , Atl anta , Georgia.
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