POTATO EXPERIMENTS.

Hokitika Guardian, 28 December 1918, Page 1

POTATO EXPERIMENTS.

There is a very interesting report in the “ Journal ot the Royal Horticultural Society” on ‘‘Experiments in Cultivation of Potatoes, the experiments dealt with being: i (i) The cutting of seed tubers. ! (2) The effect of various dressings • on cut surface ot these tubers. (3) Greened and not-greened seed : tubers with different numbers of ; sprouts v tubers taken straight Irom the clamp. 4. Planting tubers of different sizes. . ~,T , 5. The effect of planting at diner- | ent distances apart. I Precautions were taken to obviate I as far as possible errors due to differ- ’ ence in soil. This was done by re- ; peatiug the treatment on several ! plots. Care was taken that the com- | parisou should be as tair as possible i between the plots. . . I To summarise the decisions arrived at: — (1) Cutting the Tubers.—lt was evident that cutting the tubers tends jto reduce the total crop. Ihe • prevalent idea that unless the seed j tuber “decays” the resulting crop ! is likely to be small is generally ! true, and the cutting away the basal ! part of the tuber is said to be an aid j to decay, but this was not borne out in the experiment. It was also j found that where the tubers were cut those that were cut immediately before planting gave a better return than those that were cut some time previously. Where the seed of a : variety is limited, a larger yield will ! be obtained if the sets are cut, but j the average return per plant will ! not be so large. j (2) Covering the Cut Surface.— Out of eight coverings used, plaster ot Paris gave the best results' as to weight of crop returned, sulphur being also good. Lime was apparently injurious. (4) Effect ot Greening, etc.—ln this experiment the results of sprouting in full light showed only a negligible advantage over those obtained by sprouting in the dark : but it is observed that the short, sturdy sprouts formed on tubers sprouted in the light are less liable to damage during planting than are the more slender, delicate shoots produced when tubers are sprouted in the dark, but there is a remarkable contrast in yield between tubers sprouted in trays and those of the same stock that have been kept in the clamp, where the inducement is to produce spindly shoots, exhausting the tuber by the conditions there. It was also evident that in all cases it was better to leave one sprout than to rub all off at planting time, and better still to leave two sprouts than one 1 To leave two sprouts seems also better than to leave all produced, the total yield being greater with a less number of chats.

(4) Size of Seed on Tuber YieldTubers weighing between 20/. and 30Z were considered the most economical and reliable.

I (5) In this experiment, nine plots ! of one square rod each were planted. ; the distances, ranging from 24 x 12 ; inches to 30 x 18 inches, the results being that from the first plot a total weight of 2561 b 50Z was lifted, while from the latter plot the weight was j 1791 b 1 ioz, the total weight coming. : down gradually as the distauce between the tubers was increased, i while the average per plant went up ; just as gradually as the distance j apart was increased. Thus, at 24U1 j by 12, the average per plant was ilb 14J0/., at 36111 by xßin, it Was 3II140?., with a less average of chats. With I in the limits of the experiment it | was found that the greater the space j given to the individual plant the ! greater the yield ot that plant would be, but from the greater number of plants on a given area the greater the total yield of that area would be, but if it is desired to raise a large quantity from a small number of seed tubers, the tubers must be planted far apart.