POTATO-GROWING.

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 18670, 20 April 1926, Page 9

POTATO-GROWING.

TO THE XMTO» 0» "inn PRESS." Sir, —Will you kindly grant me space for the following experiment 1 The N.Z. "Fruitgrower and Apiaxist" of October last, contained a copy of a lecture.by Professor Rosa, of the University of California on potato tests. Professor Rosa stated that after numerous tests, covering several years, lie had proved that if the cut sets of potatoes were soaked in a solution of nitrate soda, in a strength of'b'oz of nitrate of soda to one gallon of water, 30 minutes, the potato foliage would show through the ground two weeks earlier than potatoes not steeped, that Ihcy would mature earlier, and give a larger crop.

Well, the writer tested this out, with the following result. On the sth of November last, I soaked 26 small Dalmany Acme potatoes in the above solution (but as the potatoes were too small to cut, I think it would be better to give uncut potatoes 40 minutes' soaking). I planted tho soaked potatoes, also 13 unsoaked,. making 3 short rows. I decided to carry out another test at the same time, and gave one of tho short rows of 13 potatoes a complete fertiliser and the second short row just the same weight of the best fertiliser from one of the Companies dealing in manures. The third row in which the potatoes were not soaked, 1 gave another class of fertiliser. At the end of 13 days, the foliage of, some of the steeped potatoes were showing up, and in a few days more the whole 26 were showing, and they were 6 to 8 inches high before tho unsoaked ones were in sight. It must be noted that none of the . potatoes, when planted, had shoots on them. At the end of 88 days they could havo been dug for early potatoes, and on the 3rd of April, 2 days under 5 months, the writer dug the two rows that had been soaked. I invited my neighbour, Mr Warwick, to eome and see the potatoes when dug in the rows, gather them up, and weigh them. No. 1, own mixed complete manure, 47-llbj No 2, Company's manure, 411b. The difference .is half a, pound of potatoes per root. No 1 equals 17J tons per acre, ,aud No. 2 just over 15 tons per acre. In each row thore was no more than 3 per cent, small potatoes, and ten per cent, seed size, S7 per cent, being table size. The reason for the difference of half a pouud per root was caused through the low potash content in the Company's fcrtili»er. All sandy loam soils arc deficient in potash. I have read that inscores of articles (not New Zealand ones) and proved it. time and again mysolf. None of the companies puts sufficient potash in its fertiliser, I have teßted them many times with my own mixture, and of course the farmers here do not use half, enough, 'the writer uses up to scwt per acre. The rows mentioned above, had that last year. T grew a plot of iewt of Snowdrop potatoes, come straight from the seedsman, and I used a mixture of 3cwt superphosphate, iewt blood and bone, -Acwt sulphate of ammonia, lewt .sulphate of potash. The results are that tho crop equalled 23 tons per acre. Four full sacks of tables,, which tho carrier took to the market, realised £2. Then there was nearly a sack of seed, and the rest small. The writer, when planting potatoes, ploughs the furrows over, sows the manure in.the furrow that the potatoes ere to be planted in, but beforo planting, the horse and tho planet grubber go round the furrow and grub tho bottom of the furrow about 3 inches deep. This mixes the manure in the soil, and allows the roots of the potatoes to go down, saves moisture, and nearly doubles the crop.—Yours, etc., "'■'' .'" GEORGE LEE. Tenlpletou, April J Bth,