Bulletin 102


This method is one that should not be encouraged, for the following reasons:
(1) When planting pods and all, no method of seed selection can be prac-
ticed. (2) It requires more seed. This is a point worth considering, for
oftentimes seed is not plentiful and is expensive. (3) When the beans are
planted in the pod it is not possible to plant by machinery, and so the cost of
planting is considerably increased. (4) It will not be possible to get so good
a germination, and an uneven stand means an unsatisfactory yield.
 SEED SELECTION
 It is possible to increase the yield of velvet beans by seed selection the
 same as with any other farm crop. The past year an acre plot was taken on
 which velvet beans were planted. One-half of this plot was planted with seed
 just as it came from the huller. The other half was planted with seed that
 had been selected; that is, all the small, shriveled, and faulty beans were re-
 jected, and only the large, well-developed ones were planted. The selected
 seed produced 33.79 bushels of shelled beans, while the unselected seed
 produced only 28.37 bushels per acre; a difference of 5.42 bushels in favor
 of the selected seed. This increase in yield is equal to an increased gross
 income of about $10 per acre from the crop.
 PREPARATION OF SEED-BED
 The preparation of the seed-bed is too often neglected by the busy
 farmer. One method of preparing the seed-bed that is commonly practiced
 and one which should be discouraged, is that of plowing two, or possibly
 four, small furrows, just enough to cover the beans, and leaving the middles
 to be plowed later or not at all. This is an expensive method of preparing
 the seed-bed; for, as a rule, not more than half a crop is obtained. Such a
 method cannot be called good farming. Velvet beans are an easy crop to
 raise, but they are too valuable a crop to be handled in a slipshod way. It
 has been demonstrated more than once that thorough preparation of the seed-
 bed before planting will reduce the after cultivation of the crop by one-half.
 (This applies not only to velvet beans but to all farm crops.) Plow the
 ground in December or January thoroughly to a depth of six inches. Harrow
 each day's plowing in the evening, and use the harrow every ten days there-
 after, until the beans have been planted. This harrowing will tend to con-
 serve the soil moisture. Farmers who practice this method of soil preparation
 experience little difficulty in conserving sufficient soil moisture to insure good
 germination.
 METHOD OF PLANTING
 The beans may be broadcasted or planted in rows. The best results,
 however, will be obtained if the beans are planted in rows four feet apart; or,
 which is still better, in rows six or eight feet apart with a row of corn between.
 If planted in rows four feet apart and from ten to fifteen inches in the drill,
 one bushel of good seed will plant four acres. When the velvet beans are