THE POTATO.

Taranaki Daily News, 23 October 1920, Page 11 (Supplement)

THE POTATO.

PLANTING THE MAIN CROP, SOME USEFUL POINTS AND HINTS. (Specially written for the Daily Neffs.) Although most of the early potatoes Will hate been planted by flow, the main and late crop plantings may be l flMrtintted to December or even Jarraary. As there afe indications of a potato shortage for next year, those who have the available ground should make an endeavour to grow a crop, and these brief totes ate written with the idea of assisting the grower to obtain better and heavier yields.

[ SOILS FOR POTATOES. | The ideal soil should be mellow and friable. Sandy loam, or even clay loam, ! rich in organic matter, will be suitable. Reclaimed swamp, which has been well drained and limed also gives good results, but it must be remembered that potatoes do best on a fairly dry soil. Grass ground, which has been prepared by autumn ploughing, invariably gives good results. It may be mentioned that satisfactory results are often obtained by simply ploughing the sets in, out of the pasture, without any preparatory treatment, but when this is done good care must be taken to select a good piece of ground, as free from weeds as pos j sible. If the pasture contains a fair percentage of clover, so much the better, as such plants store up nitrogen, which could easily take the place of expensive artificial manures as nitrate of soda, and sulphate of ammonia.

TIME OF PLANTING. In localities where the frost ia light, planting should take place early in July, following on to September. If the sets are well sprouted the plants will be hardy and able to withstand the cold weather usually experienced in August. Early planting will permit an early digging, before the blight attacks become severe. The second, or main planting may take place from mid-November to midDecember, and this is usually successful in a dry autumn when the blight is not prevalent. The advantage of the late planting is that the plant is under the ground and so protected during the warm muggy weather of early summer, Which is eminently suitable for the rapid spread of the disease. Of course, if systematic spraying is carried out, the time of planting is of not such importance. It is worth noting that experiments have shown that spraying not only controls the blight, but also ensures heavier yields.

METHOD OF PLANTING. The Quality of the soil largely determines the distance to allow between the rows. From 27 to 36 inches is the usual distance, and the sets 12 to 18 inches apart in the rows. It is advisable to have the seta well spaced, as healthier plants are obtained which are able to stand better, frost and blight attacks. Moreover, when the plants are wefl spaced, the blight does not spread so rapidly. Depth of planting should be from 3 to 5 inches.

For small areas, plant in trenches, and then only lightly cover, leaving the furrow merely reduced in size. As growth proceeds, a further levelling down continues until the ground is flat. Earthing up should take place at regular intervals, for if done at one operation, the plant roots are liable to be damaged. It must be remembered that the potato i« a surface-rooted plant.

MANURING. The crop responds to liberal manurial dressings. A complete manure, that is one containing phosphorus, potash and nitrogen usually gives good results, hut potash is especially required. However, at present, owing to its high price, the artificial potash will not be used to any extent. Kainit supplies potash, but unless it is applied to the soil some months before the potatoes are planted it tends to produce waxy potatoes instead of flowery when cooked. Wood ashes and farmyard manure should be saved for the potash they contain. The potato will grow well with "acid" manures; superphosphate is therefore good. Steamed bonedilst, or blood and bone should be added. The following mixture is justified on past experience:

3 parts Superphosphate. 2 parts Blood and Bone. 1 part Sulphate of Potash. SPRAYING. If possible avoid planting varieties that take the blight readily, such as Robin Adair, Gold Coin and Princess Victoria. / Gamekeeper, Maori Chief, New Era, Sir J. G. Wilson, Endurance,' Needpafh Gem and Farmer are much more resistant to blight. If spraying is done it should be regarded entirely as a preventive measure. To leave the spraying until the disease appears is futile. Bordeaux Mixture 4-4-40 is a good strength, or a weaker solution 2-2-40 may be used, provided spraying is started as soon as the plants are well above ground. The spraying should then be repeated at intervals of a fortnight.

SEED SELECTION. When digging the crop place the tubers from each plant in separate heaps, and select the best heaps for seed. Take all tubers large and 3mall from the good heaps. Heaps containing diseased, badly shaped and small potatoes should be rejected. Another method is to mark the best plants while the plants are still growing and dig them before the tubers fully mature, as it is found that they make excellent "seed" potatoes.

If selection is made for show purposes, good shaped and even sized tuber ones are to be preferred to irregular, uneven large ones. Quality not quantity is wanted. Points to consider in selecting a variety are;— (1) Cooking quality and flavour (2| Yield. (3) Ability to resist disease.