lS \V % y*o. Division of Agricultural Sciences UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA CALIFORNIA AGRICULTURAL Experiment Station Extension Service CIRCULAR 457 SWEET CORN PRC (?,iytK, av iina _ *« three plants per mu. • or more, rather than ane ar tw< long rows. treatment with a fungicide — Arasan SFX at i/2 ounce per 150 pounds or Phygon at 1% ounces per 150 pounds — may prove beneficial. If you suspect wireworms to be present, you may wish to combine lindane with the treatment (see the section on insects, page 11). Spacing. Sweet corn is usually drilled in rows 36 inches apart, though this spac- ing may be adjusted to the equipment to be used. A desirable plant spacing in the row is 8 to 12 inches between plants of irrigated corn, or 12 to 16 inches if the crop is to be grown without irriga- tion. If the stand is thicker than this, thin to these distances when the plants are 3 to 4 inches high. The seed should be planted 1 to IV2 inches deep, and the soil should be firmed well over the seed. About 15 pounds of seed per acre is suggested for plantings in early spring when germination may be poor. For later plantings, 8 to 12 pounds per acre is adequate unless the kernels are quite large. Special bed shapers with the drills at- tached have been developed in the Coachella Valley for planting on the side of the ridges. With flat plantings, corn planters or small vegetable-seed drills may be used. Several successive plantings should be made if a long harvest period is desired. The interval can vary from three weeks between early spring plantings to one week in late spring. Planting early sweet corn on the south side of the ridge promotes early growth by raising soil and air temperatures around the seed and seedlings. It also affords some frost protection. Fertilizers. Sweet corn requires a high level of nitrogen during the early growing period. Nitrogen applications are likely to prove profitable on this crop in all areas except on summer plantings grown on very fertile soils. A rate of about 160 pounds of nitrogen (800 pounds of ammonium sulfate) per acre is recommended for early spring plant- ings, particularly those on the lighter soil types. A rate of 80 to 100 pounds of nitrogen may be adequate for later plantings. Nitrogen may be supplied by chemical fertilizers — for example, am- monium sulfate, ammonium nitrate, and aqua ammonia — or by manure. Phosphorus applications may prove beneficial on some early plantings, par- ticularly in the area south and west of the town of Coachella, in the Delta, on certain soil types in Kern, Fresno, and Tulare counties, and in the coastal dis- tricts of Los Angeles County. A rate of 100 pounds of phosphoric acid per acre should be adequate. Ammo-phos 16-20 is a good chemical fertilizer when both nitrogen and phosphorus are to be sup- plied. Most California soil contains enough of the other nutrients — potassium, mag- nesium, iron, and so on — and therefore these seldom need to be supplied in fer- tilizers. Barnyard manure at 10 to 12 tons per acre, or poultry manure at 4 to 5 tons, should be worked into the soil before planting. Occasionally chemical fertiliz- ers are broadcast before planting and disked in, but usually they are drilled in bands 4 to 6 inches deep and just to the side of the seed row at planting time. At least half of the nitrogen and all of the phosphorus should be applied at plant- ing time. A second application of nitro- gen is often made four to six weeks after planting; it may be applied as a side- dressing, or you may add anhydrous am- monia to the irrigation water. Applica- tions of fertilizer after midseason will seldom prove of value except to give HOME ©AROBMERs Amounts of fertilize, " WBKS 'small— pe r h onc OU,d b e very """"me if, ZT in «°ns, ™« garden soils arelZ^ **< ^e, ewemsos ^;n 9l n,ne greener husks if the corn has turned yel- lowish green. Weeding and cultivation. One or more early cultivations are needed to control weeds and to establish irrigation furrows. Some weeding can be combined with thinning operations. Any cultiva- tion close to the plant should be shallow to avoid disturbing the root system. Stove oil or fortified diesel oil can some- times be used at the rate of 25 to 30 gallons per acre as a pre-emergence weed spray to take the place of an early culti- vation. If morning glory or certain other broadleaf weeds cannot be controlled by cultivation, one application of 2,4-D may be made when the plants are 6 to 12 inches high. The salt form should be used at a rate of V2 to 1 pound per acre. If possible, direct the spray cones at the base of the plants and avoid the leaves as much as possible. Irrigation. Young sweet corn plants have a rather coarse, shallow root system, but as the plant approaches maturity, the root system becomes more fibrous and will penetrate to a depth of 3 feet or slightly more in tall varieties with a large plant. [7] A crop requires 12 to 25 acre-inches of water. The water requirement is higher for summer plants in the interior valleys than for early spring plantings or for crops grown on the coast. Irrigation in furrows is the usual practice, though the flood method or sprinklers can be used. With good soil moisture at planting time, an irrigation during the germina- tion period is seldom necessary in cool weather. In hot weather one irrigation during this period may be necessary to obtain maximum and rapid germination. Regular irrigation should start when the plants are 3 to 6 inches tall. This first irrigation can be quite important from the standpoint of obtaining maxi- mum yields, and, because of the coarse root system, it may be needed even though the soil appears to be fairly well supplied with moisture. At first, inter- vals of two to three weeks between irri- gations may suffice unless the weather is very hot. As the crop advances, the inter- vals should be gradually shortened until irrigations are applied about once a week just before harvest. Late fall plantings, however, may be an exception, since they may require less frequent irrigations later on as the weather grows cooler. Apply 2 to 4 acre-inches of water at each irrigation. On hot days, corn leaves may roll for an hour or two without dan- ger of injury, but if the leaves remain rolled in the early morning, this is a sign that irrigation is needed. The most cru- cial stages occur apparently during the early growing period, during tasseling, and at harvest. Some early sweet corn is produced without irrigation in the coastal districts An irrigation when corn is about this big is often important. Later, water will be applied in every row to wet a maximum amount of soil. Adequate irrigation is essential for good production. of Los Angeles and Santa Cruz counties, in certain localities near San Francisco Bay, and in the Marsh Creek district of Contra Costa County. Fair yields can be obtained if soils with a high water-hold- ing capacity, such as clay loams, are se- lected and if the crop is not planted too thickly. Suckering. Claims have been made that suckering (the removal of side shoots or suckers) will increase both yields and the size of ears. Numerous tests conducted in California and other states have, however, shown that the re- moval of suckers is not beneficial to Golden Cross Bantam and similar varie- ties. Neither yield nor size of ear has been increased, and in some tests yields have been materially reduced by suck- ering. A few tests have indicated that in early spring plantings the crop may reach the harvest stage a few days earlier when the corn is suckered. This may, therefore, be a factor to consider on the first plant- ings in a given district. There has also been some indication that varieties may vary in their response to suckering. Therefore, if you use a variety distinctly different from Golden Cross Bantam, it would be well to test the practice before definitely deciding whether or not to sucker. Leaves rolled like this are a sign of insuf- ficient water. For best yields and ear size, corn should never be allowed to become this dry. Some growers sucker their corn be- cause they believe it reduces the labor needed to dust for corn earworm and to harvest the ears. This may be true, but it is unlikely that the savings will make up for the cost of suckering. A recent test at Davis showed that it took 13 hours of labor per acre to sucker, dust, and harvest one ton of corn. An acre of un- suckered corn was dusted and harvested in 10.6 hours. PESTS and DISEASES must be controlled Insect control The use of resistant hybrids and good soil-management practices are of some help in reducing the problem of insect damage. Nevertheless, sweet corn in Cali- fornia is subject to attack by several in- sect pests that can be controlled only by chemical methods. The best-known and most destructive is the corn earworm. Earworms may be abundant on any planting, though they are usually more serious late in the season. The night-flying moths normally lay the eggs on the silks. The eggs hatch in three to five days and the young worms work their way down the silk channel to the ear. Sometimes before the silks ap- pear, the eggs are laid on the tassels and the worms migrate to the ears later, enter- ing through the side. [9] The corn earworm can be a serious pest. Tassel treatment is necessary in some areas. To control the sideworms, one or two dustings of 10 per cent DDT should be given at 30-35 pounds per acre, start- ing when the tassels are three-quarters open. Individual ear treatment. In moder- ately heavy to heavy earworm popula- tions, each ear must be treated three or HOME GARDENERS The pesticides recommended here or commercial growers le in small quantities from n"" erymen and hardware stores They I M be used according to the Seductions on the packages. four times. Treatment should begin one or two days after the silk appears and should be repeated at three-day intervals. Several methods are possible: 1. Individual brush treatment: 5 per cent DDT dust is applied to each ear with a stencil or paintbrush. This takes 30-35 pounds per acre. 2. Individual ear sprays: DDT at 0.75 per cent is combined with 5 per cent mineral oil (U.S. P. grade mineral oil, 70-90 seconds Saybolt viscosity) and water to make 50 gallons. This takes 3 to 8 gallons per acre, or about 1.5 ml. (Vs teaspoonful) per ear. 3. Late injections, when the silks turn brown, can be made by oil can with 1 per cent DDT in mineral oil, 0.6 to 0.7 ml. per ear. This method requires going over the field several times at four- to five-day intervals to make sure of catch- ing all the ears requiring treatment, as not all of the silks are brown at the same time. Treated ears should be marked so that the same ear will not be treated more than once, as injury may result from overdosing. A mixture of lampblack and oil has been used for marking. Dusting or spraying can be used for light to moderate infestations. Ground dusting should be carried out with 5 per cent DDT dust, 35-40 pounds per acre, three or four times at three- to four-day intervals. If you use fixed spray nozzles, apply 30 to 50 gallons of 0.75 per cent DDT and 10 per cent mineral oil emul- sion when the silks first appear and re- peat the treatment three or four times at three-day intervals. General field dusting with 10 per cent DDT dust by ground or airplane gives variable results depending upon the severity of the infestation. If the earworm population is low, re- moving the silks after fertilization of the ear is complete will give some degree of control. Wireworms are smooth, round, wiry, dark-brown soil worms that cause dam- age by feeding on the seed or on the [10] roots and stems of young plants. They are most common on sandy soil types and do most of their feeding during the spring. Reseeding is sometimes necessary on infested areas in a field. Soil fumiga- tion with ethylene dibromide, using 2 gallons of actual chemical per acre be- fore seeding, will kill wireworms. Seed treatment with lindane is effec- tive and much cheaper than soil fumiga- tion. Use IV3 ounce of 75 per cent lindane per 100 pounds of seed, plus an adequate fungicide. This treatment will usually also protect against seed-corn maggots and rootworm larvae. Corn aphids are often a problem in coastal areas. This pest is a dark-green aphid that sometimes occurs abundantly on the leaves and tassels. Two per cent parathion dust at 25 to 30 pounds per acre is partially effective. Armyworms, cutworms, and flea beetles can usually be controlled with 5 per cent DDT dust applied at 25 to 40 pounds per acre (the higher rate for cut- worms), or a DDT spray, using 1.5 to 2 pounds of actual DDT per acre. Residue problems. The official toler- ance allowable for DDT on corn is 7 ppm (parts per million), and for para- thion, 1 ppm. Growers should consult local agricultural authorities in regard to the use of other chemicals on corn, as recent legislation makes it necessary to use only chemicals for which official tolerances are established. Disease control In spite of sound cultural practices, sweet corn crops in California are prey to certain diseases. Those that occur most commonly in this state are: Smut. Boil smut, the most common, causes large, fleshy, irregular swellings on the stems, ears, or tassels and may occur at any stage of growth. The spores live over in the soil, hence the problem can be at least reduced if a crop-rotation program is carried out. Seed treatment, which will prevent pre-emergence seedling loss from other [ CAUTION If DDT in any form is used on sweet corn, the fodder or unmarketable ears should not be fed to dairy cows within 90 days of milking or to meat animals within 60 days of slaughter. organisms, is not effective in controlling smut. If corn smut occurs, the diseased plants or parts should be removed and destroyed, preferably by burning. No preventive or control measures are available against smut. However, crop rotation and the burning of affected stalks will help reduce the prevalence of this disease. Ear mold, pink rot. Several fungi, particularly Fusarium monilijorme, may develop on ears in the field, usually in worm-damaged ears. The ears become moldy and the kernels may split open and turn a pinkish color, which ruins the corn for market. This trouble usually de- velops only in heavily irrigated fields during periods of high temperatures. The best control is to prevent worm damage. An ear of corn showing severe smut damage. 11] In HARVESTING, quality depends on careful timing of operations Development of the ear. Good pol- lination is essential for well-filled, fully developed ears. The silks keep growing until fertilized by the pollen, carried to them from the tassels by wind and grav- ity; then they begin to dry and some- times turn brown. Hot weather or dry soil conditions may cause failures in pol- lination or set of kernels. During the summer, corn reaches prime eating condition about three weeks from the time the silks appear. In late fall the interval may be four to five weeks. As the ear approaches maturity, sugar changes to starch, the pericarp (hull) becomes tougher, and the kernels pass through stages called pre-milk, milk, early dough, and dough stages. At field temperatures of around 60° F an ear re- mains in prime condition for about five days; at 85° F it passes through this stage in one to two days. When and how to harvest. As the field approaches maturity, a few ears should be examined occasionally to de- termine the time for the first picking. An ear at the proper stage is fully sized for the variety, its husk is tight, and the silks are somewhat dried. The kernels are fully developed, are bright yellow for golden varieties, and, if punctured, show a milky exudate. Since the husks should not be disturbed during harvest- ing, the picking crew should use only external characteristics in selecting the ears that are ready. The ears are harvested by hand with a downward twisting motion and are carried out of the field in high-wheeled trailers, in picking sacks, or on horse- drawn sleds. Since all the ears do not reach maturity at the same time, a field should be picked two or three times in order to harvest all of the corn at the best stage. Corn harvested early in the morning will be 10 to 25 degrees cooler than it will be after mid-day. Harvested corn should be protected from the sun as much of the time as possible until it is packed. Seeding and Harvest Dates for Sweet Corn District Usual planting period Main harvest period Coachella Valley . . January to March May and early June August November and early December San Joaquin Valley . . March and April June to early August June and July October to early December Southern California . . March to July Late June to early November San Francisco Bay area. . . . April to July July to October Delta region . . April to June Late July to September [12] m:[i ,## p l\ >rt I I a I / From left to right— increasingly mature ears of corn. That on the left is immature; that on the right is slightly overmature. Preparation for market Sorting. Good corn should have green, fresh husks with streamers and well-filled long ears that are relatively free from defects. All ears showing side- holes made by corn earworms, smut, mold, or serious tip damage from worms should be discarded. Most growers dis- card ears that have less than 4 inches of good kernels, that are under- or over- mature, or that have severely damaged husks. Some growers make two grades of corn, based on the length of the ear. Sweet corn offered for sale must meet the following minimum requirements of the California Agricultural Code: Ears of green corn shall be free from serious damage caused by smut or other diseases, mold, decay, or fermen- tation, insects or other causes. Damage - from any cause shall be considered serious if it affects any of the kernels below a distance from the tip of more than 25 per cent of the length of the cob. In addition, the kernels on at least one-half of the length of the cob shall be plump, milky, and well developed, but not shriveled. Not more than 10 per cent, by count, of the ears in any one lot of containers or bulk lot may be below these re- quirements but no container shall have more than 20 per cent, by count, of ears which are below these require- ments.* Since these requirements are subject to revision, be sure to consult the current * Extracts from the Agricultural Code of California. Bureau of Fruit and Vegetable Standardization, Department of Agriculture, Sacramento. Revised to September 7, 1955. Sec- tion 813.7, page 318. [13] HOME GARDENER* For best flavor, pick the corn when y oo are ready to eat it. If more ears are ready for harvest than you * Lot once, store. hem, rnrned-aey aft er picking, unhusked ,n a eo d (32° F), moist spot, but don 1 try to Leep them longer than 2 or 3 days ^ 5.. most. Even under the best storage conditions, corn loses qual- ity quickly. Code or see your local Agricultural Com- missioner. Packaging. Sorting and packing are hand operations that can be carried out in any shaded location on the ranch. When large quantities of corn are to be handled, well-organized packing sheds will speed the work and increase labor efficiency. Corn may be packed in corn crates that hold 4 to 6 dozen ears depending on the size of ear, in the Los Angeles lug that holds 3 dozen ears, or in a green mesh sack that holds about 5 dozen ears. The Los Angeles lug is used only for truck shipments to local markets. The so- called "corn" crates are used quite ex- tensively for both truck and freight ship- ments. The nailed crate has inside meas- urements of 71/2" x 1434" x 20y 3 ", and the wire-bound crate is 7%" x 14" x 21%". In the lug and crate, the corn is arranged in layers of 8 to 12 ears. The corn is often cooled just before or after packaging. Packed corn should be held under as low a temperature as pos- sible (32° to 35°F) until it is shipped. Cooling and handling Sweet corn is highly perishable. Loss of table quality is due largely to loss of sugar after harvest. At warm tempera- tures the sugar is changed to starch very rapidly. For example, at 70° F, half of the sugar can be lost during the first day after harvest, and the quality rating drops from excellent to poor. Market ap- pearance, as well as table quality, is im- paired if sweet corn is exposed to condi- tions that cause the husks to become dry or discolored. For a quality product, corn must be harvested at prime condition. If possible, harvest early in the morning when the corn is coolest. Then keep it as cool and under as high humidity as possible. Quality is best retained at temperatures near 32° F. Protecting corn from the sun and wind, especially during transit, and maintaining high humidity will also help to keep the husks in fresh condition. And, finally, deliver the product to the consumer quickly — within 6 to 24 hours of harvesting — or provide conditions that will maintain freshness until the ears do reach the consumer. In either case, artificial cooling with low storage temperatures is necessary if the quality is to be maintained. For short marketing periods (1 to 2 days) corn kernel temperature should be 38° F or lower. Either precooling or package icing plus top icing in transit may be adequate. For long marketing periods (3 days or more) corn temperatures should be lowered to 38° F or below as quickly as possible after harvest and kept there. A combination of precooling, package icing, and top icing in transit will most likely achieve the best results. Precooling is a common practice in the Coachella Valley and has been used to some extent in the San Joaquin Val- [14] ley. The corn is either immersed in a cold-water bath or passed through a shower of cold water. Precooling should be done as soon as possible after harvest, either before or after packaging, though it is more efficient with loose corn. Do not expose the corn to warm temperatures afterwards. The water bath should be kept at a temperature of 38° F or below. The ker- nel temperature can be lowered 12 to 15 degrees in 15 to 20 minutes' exposure, an average of nearly one degree of cooling per minute. Less than 15 minutes' cool- ing does little good, and after 20 minutes the rate of cooling decreases rapidly. Heat is removed from the corn wholly by the melting of ice, and it takes 200 to 400 pounds of ice to precool one ton of corn. The water bath will cool much faster with crushed than with chunk ice. Precooling also helps keep the husks looking fresh. Package icing is not yet common in California, but it offers the most efficient method of cooling corn and merits con- sideration by growers who want to im- prove the quality of their product. In this method 15 to 25 pounds of crushed ice is distributed throughout the container during the packing process. The corn is cooled rapidly and efficiently because of its continued direct contact with the ice. Furthermore, ice can be kept in the container during the entire marketing period, greatly extending the length of time low temperatures can be maintained. The amount of ice needed in the pack- age depends on the temperature of the corn at the time of packing and on the expected length of the marketing period. Precooling to remove part of the field heat may permit the use of less ice, or, in the case of long marketing periods, may extend the length of time ice will remain in the package. The wire-bound "corn crate" or one slightly larger makes a suitable container. The main disadvantages of package icing are that 1) the pack may be some- what slack on arrival in the market, 2) the package is heavier and wet, and 3) the containers used at present, especially the lug and the nailed crate, are not well adapted to this method. Icing in transit is accomplished by distributing crushed ice over the load (top icing) or through the load (body icing) in trucks or railway cars. This method helps to keep temperatures low during transit but provides little or no additional cooling. Icing in transit is de- sirable for hauls of 75 miles or more, especially if the corn has been precooled or package iced. [15] MARKETING ... the local market is usually the most practical outlet Sweet corn is best adapted for market- ing close to the production district. Dis- tant shipments are hazardous; they should not be attempted unless the corn is of excellent quality and fairly free from worms, and unless its temperature can be lowered quickly to 38° F and held there. Even with nearby outlets, sweet corn must be marketed in an orderly fashion if losses are to be avoided. Because it is highly perishable, it must be moved quickly. If the market becomes flooded, either prices drop drastically or a good deal of corn goes to waste. Orderly marketing can be encouraged by: 1. Spreading the plantings to give a steady supply of corn during the entire harvest period for the district. 2. Offering only high quality corn for sale. 3. Maintaining uniform packaging and grades. 4. Advising commission merchants in advance when the harvest season will start so they can develop outlets before the shipments arrive. 5. Avoiding heavy shipments when the market is filled with corn. Production costs A study made in Tulare County in 1953 gives a representative figure for production costs. With a yield of 200 five-dozen crates per acre, the cost per crate is $1.68. This includes packing and shed costs, which amount to 85 cents per crate, or half the total cost. Items ex- ceeding $15 per acre are: fertilizer, $16; dusting, $24.30; packing, $26; and land rent based on more than one crop per season, $17.50. Studies have also been made in other counties. These vary as to the cost per crate depending on the time of year produced and also on whether packing and marketing costs are in- cluded. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors wish to acknowledge the assistance of William H. Lange, Jr., Depart- ment of Entomology, and Raymond G. Grogan, Department of Plant Pathology, who provided information for the sections on insect and disease control. In order that the information in our publications may be more intelligible it is sometimes neces- sary to use trade names of products or equipment rather than complicated descriptive or chemical identifications. In so doing it is unavoidable in some cases that similar products which are on the market under other trade names may not be cited. No endorsement of named products is intended nor is criticism implied of similar products which are not mentioned. 15m-12,'56(C0310)BEB [16 "3 CO CD CM ■ «C o O CM • d CO • CO Ttf 3 o . . . c£> C t- H IO CO O ^ . . • • iH OC t> CM fc- • • • CO rH tH o Q HOOOfll O O CO O CO o o rH i O O O tH CM ^ H M O ^ O CO m fc CM tH CM o O CO rH O 'S* CO O CO CM O O 00 O t-Ofl)HOO rH > "3 O O O 00 CC OiOtOOrlO "tf •-s 00 CM IO 05 «^> V ^^ •-8 O O O CO C O O CO o ■«* c CO in t- CM "tf t- >> jD c8 rH © © © CO o o o c o o o o o c CO 4- b J* ft. s •-s CM O O O O o o o o o o CM 2 u ID u C 8 ft. u. C M (O bo X Pi o 1- • fl 1 CO CO *43 o bo •c o ^ 09 § O o i- . £ f £= O c3 ® ^5 _ • "M M g h ec3 >> (- g g — ' ^-^ ho •■-• •»> * o > > S S3 a: "5 •• « S 4 E 2 3 * «s w o c 02 02 02 § O £ * .2 ^ 2,-3 o c ™ fa O £ o u i m pq 3 o H t-N00O S to co o ^J O O "^ o ** t- o o O O iH O O CO to o t- ,-H CN tH o CN i-H CN c 42 O CN ^ O © CO © c © © © iH O CC iH c CO co CN CO t- 00 ft. CN i-H CN u s o © o © ■** to rj< O OOt-ONW OS CN "* iH t- tc CO T- ih ,H « CO •"9 to co tH CO O O O > s 1 g> '. B ^ 1 1 1 sa 1 s? w w ^ 3 i c« d s •• a ^ g ^ § § * xJ o 9 3 o o o 4-1 I > a. > > 1 1 FJ o > o o ■M Pi o _, 4 > 1 9 6 «? § .S 1 -2 2 | | '? Q 2 £ £ 1 g o * 2 S 13 13 ^fc S O H O O -£ ft p« § ps d pq £ w g w w n w Table 3. Sweet Corn Production Costs in Tulare County, 1953 (Based on a yield of 200 five-dozen crates per acre, double-cropped; man labor at $0.90 and $1.05; 30-hp wheel tractor at $1.60 per hour.) Average costs per crate Pre-harvest labor and material : Land preparation (including pre-irrigation preparation) : 4 man- and tractor-hours Planting (2-row planter) : % man- and tractor-hours Seed : 15 lbs. at 40c Cultivate 2 times and fertilize : 2 J^ man- and 2 tractor-hours Fertilizer : 80 lbs. nitrogen Irrigation labor (including pre-irrigation) : 14 times, 16 man-hours Water : power for 2 acre feet at $2.00 Dusting (hand) : 3 times, 27 man-hours Dust: 100 lbs. 5% DDT at 9c Miscellaneous labor and material Total pre-harvest costs Harvesting : Picking (includes wagon) .... Hauling in field and to shed . . Shed costs (labor, crates, etc.) Total harvesting costs Cash overhead : General expense : 5% pre-harvest costs plus hauling County taxes ( l A annual cost) Miscellaneous repairs, insurance, etc Total cash overhead Total cash, labor, and field-power cost Depreciation : Irrigation facilities : $90 cost, Y 2 annual Equipment (except tractor and harvesting) : $17, 10 years, Y 2 . Total depreciation Interest on investment at 5% : Irrigation facilities (av. value $45) : y 2 annual cost Equipment (except tractor and harvesting) : y 2 annual cost Land at $700 : x / 2 annual cost Total interest . 10.60 1.99 6.00 5.83 16.00 14.40 4.00 24.30 = 9.00 3.00 95.12 26.00 12.00 170.00 208.00 5.36 3.00 2.00 10.36 313.48 2.75 0.85 3.60 1.13 0.21 17.50 18.84 Total cost of production $335.92 $0.48 0.13 0.06 0.85 1.04 0.05 1.57 0.02 0.09 $1.68 * 1955 costs are based on four dustings, bringing the cost of dusting to $35 per acre. The 1955 cost per crate is therefore $1.73, an increase of 5 cents per crate. Prepared by Vincent H. Schweers, Farm Advisor, Tulare County, and Burt B. Burlingame, Extension Specialist in Farm Management. [19] IN PRODUCING one fourth of this nation's vegetables There's a bumper crop of jobs in a wide variety of rewarding fields — all helping Califor- nia produce one fourth of the vegetable crop of the United States. growing • shipping • developing new varieties • producing seed sup- plies • chemical fertilizers • pest control • processing contacts. These jobs are hard to fill, for they need very special training. These jobs are thoroughly covered by the University of California vegetable crops curric- ulum at Davis. It provides a balanced and thor- ough course covering all aspects of vegetable production and handling in different areas. breeding • handling • storage and transit • crop varieties • insect studies • plant diseases • weed control • vegetable growth. These jobs require special skills that can be developed only through practical experience under able guidance, using the many and varied facilities that the College of Agriculture at Davis can offer. 140 acres of land for class work and experiment • greenhouses and spe- cial equipment • irrigation facilities • a faculty of national reputation. For further write to Department of Vegetable Crops UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Davis, California or see your University of California Farm Advisor for college entrance requirements Co-operative Extension work in Agriculture and Home Economics, College of Agriculture, University of California, and United States Department of Agriculture co-operating. Distributed in furtherance of the Acts of Congress of May 8, and June 30, 1914. George B. Alcorn, Director, California Agricultural Extension Service.