Chapter 413: Corn Rotation (Seeking various votes)

The arrival of this batch of seeds is very timely. The rice in Xincheng is being harvested. It is impossible to wait for the rice or wheat to mature before winter. Only crops like corn that can mature in three months can be planted for another season.

This extra batch of food will definitely be of great benefit to the development of the Han tribe next year. Although there are seeds such as soybeans in addition to corn, Luo Chong does not know the variety of soybeans. There are indeed soybeans that can mature in three months, but that depends on the geographical location and variety. Most soybeans take about four months to plant. If they are not mature by winter, the seeds will be wasted.

And the same is true for corn. Although the Shang elder of the Xin tribe said that their corn can mature in three months, that is the growth cycle over there. Who knows whether the geographical environment of the Han tribe can also mature in three months, so in order to avoid the risk of failure, Luo Chong decided to take out a quarter of the corn seeds to plant this time, so that even if it does not mature before winter, Luo Chong can accept this loss.

In order to catch up with this summer sowing, Luo Chong had already assigned some people to raise corn seedlings while harvesting rice in the paddy fields.

Corn can actually be planted directly in the field, but it is also OK to raise seedlings first and then transplant them. Raising seedlings has its own advantages, which can increase the germination rate. Compared with planting, it can save some seeds. When the corn seedlings grow out, they just need to be transplanted one by one in the field.

It is also okay to use rice fields to grow corn, especially when rice is just harvested. In order to facilitate people to go to the fields normally during harvesting, it is necessary to cut off the water and kang ten days in advance to allow the water in the rice fields to evaporate fully and the fields to harden. At this time, it is most appropriate to complete the replacement of paddy fields and dry fields.

Moreover, this kind of rice and corn rotation, paddy field and dry field rotation, can play a good role in protecting and utilizing the fields. In addition, these are newly developed fertile fields, and crops have never been planted before. The fertility of the soil is very sufficient, and there is no need to worry about the decline of soil fertility within a few years.

But fertilizer still has to be applied, just not in large quantities. The real fertilizer consumer is not the grain, but the cabbage. This large-leafed vegetable is actually the one that consumes the most fertilizer. The amount of fertilizer used for one acre of cabbage is much more than that for grain.

In order to successfully complete the rotation of rice and corn, Luo Chong continued to stay in the new city to watch, instructing the tribesmen to do farm work while urging the paper mill to build a new production line. Moreover, he had to wait for the paper mill to produce enough paper. When he returned to Hanyang City this time, he must bring enough window paper.

"Chief, this corn looks so big, one grain can replace several grains of rice. Is this thing growing a lot? If it can grow like rice and produce a bunch, how much grain will it produce?" A group of tribe leaders stood by the farmland and watched Luo Chong demonstrate how to grow corn.

"I don't know if this corn is as delicious as rice. I've eaten rice, but I don't know what this corn tastes like."

"Do you still want to try it? These are all seeds. I heard that the soldiers of the caravan exchanged their lives for them. Can you eat it?"

"It doesn't matter if this corn is delicious or not, as long as it's edible, you're still picking it up here. Have you forgotten how everyone spent the winter before joining the Han tribe? It's good to have something to eat. You're still picking it up here. It's really..." The older Chai tribe leader couldn't help but interrupted, but after thinking for a long time, he didn't know what words to use to describe these guys.

"Yes, let's not talk about whether this corn is delicious or not, and no matter how much it can produce, just the speed of ripening a crop in these three ring months is worth our vigorous planting. Think about it yourself, if we plant all corn, we can plant at least three crops a year, isn't it one more season than rice?

And even if we rotate it with rice, we can plant three crops of food a year. It's better to plant one more season than letting the land idle for three months, right?!" The patriarch of the Zhu clan also said at this time.

Luo Chong, on the other hand, was thinking about inventing a plow for sowing as soon as possible, and he couldn't help laughing while listening to their discussion. After sowing a row of seeds, he straightened up and explained to the tribe leaders.

"Everyone, be quiet. I know you are not familiar with corn. You started planting rice before you joined the Han tribe last year. Of course, you have more confidence in rice, but I want to tell you now that corn is no worse than rice."

Luo Chong clapped his hands to attract everyone's attention and said. When the tribe leaders heard what Luo Chong said, they all stopped discussing and looked at Luo Chong in surprise.

What does "no worse than rice" mean?

"First of all, corn is a delicious grain. Of course, some people may not be used to it. It is a kind of coarse grain. Corn cannot be used to steam rice, but it can be used to make porridge. It can also be ground into powder and made into food such as cakes, which is similar to flatbreads. If wheat flour is added to corn flour, it can also be made into corn buns. I will tell you how to eat it after it is grown. In short, this is also a very delicious and very resistant grain.

Then let me tell you about planting. It only takes three months to grow a crop of corn. I have told you this before, but we are not sure whether it takes three months. We will know after trying this time.

Another thing is what corn looks like. I believe you all want to know. In fact, corn grows very tall, almost as tall as a person, or even taller. It does not grow many stalks like rice. Corn has only one stalk, and it is very thick, almost slightly thicker than a finger. There will

be more than a dozen particularly large leaves on it, and the middle part will be There are two or three corn cobs, or even one leaf per corn cob, but that won't produce much corn, so we usually only keep the two in the middle, or even one, and break off the others. Don't be reluctant. Only by breaking off those that compete for nutrients can the two in the middle grow bigger and better, so that you can increase production and income.

There is also the yield issue that you are most concerned about. I haven't calculated how much it can produce, but I know that the yield of this thing is very high, at least not less than the rice you are growing now. Oh, by the way, the amount I'm talking about refers to the comparison in weight, not the number of grains. You know that corn is much larger than rice. "

Luo Chong even made a joke to them at the end, which made everyone laugh, but they were even happier because the leader said that this new grain was delicious, produced more than rice, and grew faster than rice, which meant that they would never have to worry about food again, and their choice to join the Han tribe was right.

"Long live the leader, long live the Han tribe!"

Someone in the crowd suddenly shouted, and the others followed suit. The joy of the harvest, the appearance of new food, and all the happy events together completely ignited the enthusiasm of the tribesmen.

Luo Chong smiled at his people. He felt that it was necessary to set a festival for the tribesmen to celebrate.

(End of this chapter)