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Elimination Of Competition

Categories: TILLAGE

Weeds pump the water out of the soil, use

up available plant-food, and compete for the sunlight. Tillage is given

for several reasons, and one is the destruction of weeds. A weeder

which stirs the soil only an inch or two deep is an excellent destroyer

of weeds when they are starting, but after the weeds are well-rooted,

the weeder acts only as a cultivator for the plants that should be

destroyed. Modern cultivators have fine teeth that let the surface

remain nearly level, and they do their best work when the weeds are

small. The use of "sweeps" should be more general. The blades are so

placed that they slip under the surface, letting the soil fall back so

that a mulch is formed.



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