UNFIT FOR SEED

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 221, 18 September 1942, Page 4

UNFIT FOR SEED

SPROUTED POTATOES RELEASE BY GOVERNMENT Hopes ran high when seedsmen in the city learned this week that potatoes were being released by the army for use as seed to supply the orders for 281b lots received from customers some weeks ago. hut when the potatoes began to arrive the seedsmen were disillusioned. Sprouts were protruding from the sacks in all directions and signs of rotten tubers were apparent from the outside. Some large seedsmen immediately condemned the supplies and widespread dissatisfaction with the action of the authorities in allowing the potatoes to deteriorate to such an extent before their release was expressed. One seedsman said that although he had a large number of orders from private gardeners he could not accept any of the potatoes. Although they were weak and inferior the price the seedsmen were advised to charge the public was 4d a pound. Inquiries revealed that on Monday the Government released 5000 sacks of table potatoes from its Auckland storage depot for seed purposes. Some of these potatoes had been in storage in Auckland in an enclosed space stacked together since they arrived by the Waipiata from the south in July, and others since they were unloaded from the same ship in August. Experience has shown that potatoes brought from the south and stored in Auckland always sprout and deteriorate quickly because of the mild conditions here, and therefore they should not be held in store for more than a short time after arrival. "A large growth of sprouts weakens the constitution of potatoes and makes them unsuitable for seed, especially if they have to be cut because of being table size."' said a merchant. He strongly emphasised | that potatoes for planting purposes should be of sound quality, otherwise they were susceptible to disease and at best would produce only a small crop. As spraying materials were now more difficult to obtain than in normal times it was doubly necessary in order to reduce the toll of blight that seed potatoes should be firm and have strong sprouts when planted. Strong comment was made on the fact that when the sprouted potatoes were being carted out of the Government's store for distribution to city seedsmen, many hundreds of sacks of potatoes newly arrived from the south w r ere being carted in. It was stated that the latest supplies should have been distributed as seed and the others used for table purposes.