Show tar T ar corn rheumatism cause explained cure effected by using phosphorus and potash by dr george N hoffer rheumatism in the joints 0 of growing corn that results in poorly formed ears or dwarfed growth can be cured by doses of potash or phosphorus fertilizer or a combination of both elements applied to the soil in sufficient quantities corn rheumatism is especially prevalent in areas that have been consistently planted to this crop for generations it often manifests itself in poor yields from normal looking corn plants that fail to produce properly ripened ears if the stems of these backward corn plants are slit lengthwise th the chances are that the interior of th the e Z 4 after a hard day these pure bleds on a jefferson county wisconsin dairy farm are heading home joints will be found considerably darker in color than the remainder of the stem tissue these darkened areas are due to arl an accumulation of iron and other minerals that break down the tissues and wreck the conveyor belts that transport food to all parts of the corn plant scientific tests have established that this malady is is caused by a lack of available potash in the soil it can be prevented by the addition of potash in some cases a definitely stunted growth of the entire corn plant accompanies the symptoms of poorly maturing ears here again a lengthwise section of the stem is likely to reveal telltale tell tale darkened joints in such instances the trouble is due to a lack of both potash and phosphorus the application of these plant food elements to the soil will remedy the condition while corrective measures such as the foregoing are advisable the surest preventive of plant malnutrition and its resultant crop failure is to make certain that before corn planting time each year the land is provided with plenty of fertilizer to su supply P needed potash and phosphorus to the growing crop |