WHAT PUKEKOHE PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 9, Issue 520, 6 April 1920, Page 2

WHAT PUKEKOHE PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW

HOW TO STORE POTATOES.

First of all, in the prevention o( potato storage, dry rot comes in the digging, handling and of the tubers so that they are jured as little as possible. It is almost, but not quite true, that a mature potato with a sound skin, if kept in n well ventilated storage bin, will not rot. At least, it can be safely said that more than % per cent, of the tubers which do rot in storage from dry rot suffer fi»m sorious wounds first and then rot afterwards.

The second essential thing for rot prevention during storage is the surrounding of the tubers with favoui;ib!e conditions. The successful storage <>f potatoes is dependent on the temperature at which they are held, the moisture content of the air, the size of the storage pile, and the exclusion of light. Given mature, uninjured tubers, the two factors most commonly responsible for pool stoiage results are too high tern pel &• lures and insufficient ventilation* There are a number of distinct rots of potato tubers caused by different organisms, and almost with? out exception they are most severe when the storage temperatures are high, and when the air becomes heavily laden with moisture, due to lack of proper ventilation. For instance, neither the powdery dry rot which is so common in the eastern the State, noi' the dry rot which is i apparently widely distributed all over ihe State, will develop seriously in I storage if the temperature is kept at I from 34 l<» 38 degves Fahrenheit, and if the storage place is kept well ventilated. . . , , Potatoes in large quantities should never be placed directly in storage if they have become heated by high temperatures, They should first be thoroughly cooled to prevent as far as possible the natural heating which takes place and to start the storage period under as favourable conditions as possible. This cooling may often be done with convenience and economy by leaving the potatoes outside the storage place until well ccoled by night temperatures, and then moving them into storage either lata at night or early in the morning before they have had an opportunity to become heated again by external conditions. A good storage place embodies the following requirements: Kase and thoroughness of ventilation, ability to prevent rapid changes in temperature inside in response to rapid changes in the temperature of the atmosphere outside, convenience in cleaning, conveniently arranged for use, ample in size, and durable. In many sections of the United

States where potatoes are an important cash crop these essentials ane most efficiently secured in the cellars constructed balf underground a*l half above, with three or more ample sized ventilators in the top, and with large doors and a driveway in at one end large enough to accommodate a waggon for convenience in loading o:< unloading the potatoes. Another type of storage place used with much satisfaction in this state i:; the douhle-walled, sawdust-lined bin, with all walls about.six inches thick and with ventilators in the sides, which, when the days are warm may be loft open at night Jnd kept closed in the daytime, with the result that the whole bin is kept reasonably cool all the time. All

storage places should be piovided with a thermometer, so that the temperatures may be regulated intelligently. Injury is when the --r tempe. aturer, are too low as well as when they are too high. With the dry rot it appears that the critical v time, the time when much of the k.-ss from this disease results, is during the iirst two months after dig-

ging, when the temperatures are apt t<> be higher than during any other part of the storage period. It is, at this time that potatoes need especially to be surrounded by the favourable conditions that are best second only in a good storage place. All regular potato storage places, and particularly those in which rotting of potatoes was bad the previous year, should be thoroughly clean-

Ed and disinfected before potatoes are again placed in storage in order to kill all the potato rot-producing organisms already present, and thus to prevent wica spread infection of the new cop. 'l'o accomplish this, ihe walls and floors may be thoroughly swabbed or sprayed until wet with either of the following solutions: - - j sulphate (bluestone) 1 A pound, water 10 gallons; or formaldehyde 1 pi nt. water 10 gallons. After being thus disinfected, the

storage place should be well aired and dried out before potatoes are again placed in it.

—N.Z. Dairyman