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Show Plant Starvation Lowers Corn Yield Lack of Phosphate May Be Factor in Failure By checking signs of plant food starvation on the corn you harvested harvest-ed this fall, you can take steps to Increase yields next year. For example, if the corn in your crib has a lot of ears like those in the accompanying illustration, the crop was starved for phosphate. The reason for this was that part of the silks came out too late to catch any pollen. The kernels were not fertilized and so failed to fill out. The unfilled rows or parts of rows make the ears lopsided and curled. I It ; Crop starved for phosphate is Illustrated by ears above. Ears are twisted and whole rows of kernels failed to fill. You can add phosphate to the soil ' next spring through the use of fertilizers fer-tilizers carrying this plant nutrient. But well-nourished corn needs other oth-er elements besides phosphate. It needs nitrogen and potash, too. So the surest way to keep your corn healthy and well fed and to get high yields per acre, is to give your soil a balanced supply of plant foods carrying all three major elements nitrogen, phosphate and potash. Good soil tilth is another essential for getting high corn yields. You can build tilth and put the soil in prime condition for growing corn, alfalfa and sweet clover, mellow the soil, loosen tight compactions below the plow layer and make the soil more porous so water and air can get in. |