CERTIFIED SEED POTATOES

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23673, 25 June 1942, Page 6

CERTIFIED SEED POTATOES

STANDARD OF GRADING ALTERED

It has been the practice of the Department of Agriculture in the past not to accept seed potatoes from provisionally certified potato crops for tagging as finally certified seed if the 16 smallest tubers in any 100 selected at random weighed less than 21b. While the principle behind this regulation still holds, it has been considered expedient, in view of the extreme shortage of seed potatoes, to waive this regulation so that the small tubers from a provisionally certified crop may be identified from similar tubers from an uncertified crop. , . , An announcement to this effect was made yesterday by Mr J. H.' Claridge, seed certification officer, of the Fields Division of the Department of Agriculture. ‘‘lt has been decided to accept for tagging as certified seed the produce of provisionally certified potato crops, provided the 16 smallest tubers in any 100 weigh not less than 11b, ana the tubers otherwise come up to the standard of grading required for certified seed potatoes,” said Mr Claridge. “The word ‘undergrade’ will be stamped on the certification tags issued for seed potatoes coming within the scope of the relaxed regulations, but not reaching the standard of size required by the original regulation.”