BLIGHT FREE POTATO SEED.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXII, Issue 8258, 26 December 1911, Page 7

BLIGHT FREE POTATO SEED.

NONE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM.

gi r John M'Call, tlie Tasmanian Agent-General, advises _that he has been making inquiries in Great Britain and Ireland with a view to ascertaining whether or not it might be possible to obtain seed potatoes which would fulfil the requirements of the Commonwealth Government under the Quarantine Act. He states that neither the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries of Great Britain nor the Department of Agriculture for Ireland can undertake to guarantee any potatoes grown in the parts of the United Kingdom under their jurisdiction as free from blight. The Secretary to the Department for Ireland states that it is not practicable by means of a

superficial examination to ascertain definitely whether certain tubers are affected or not with the disease. In fact, potatoes which are apparently free from blight when being packed for export may show signs of a disease in the course of transit, and accordingly be condemned ori arrival at the port of landing. He also points out that, although potato blight has existed in the United Kingdom for a very long time, there has been practically no diminution of the acreage under this crop, in 1910 Great" Britain had 539,684 acres under potatoes, giving an output of 3,477,139 tons, or 6.44 tons per acre. Ireland in the same year had -592,985 acres, with, a total output of 2,870,827 tons, an average of 4.84 tons per acre. The total figures for the United Kingdom (viz., 1,132,669 acres, yielding 6,347,966 tons, or an average of 5.60 tons per 'acre) show that, notwithstanding the prevalence of blight and other potato diseases^ there is still a large area under cultivation, and that by means of proper spraying and treatment the farmers in the United Kingdom are able to obtain a fair output.