THE POTATO CROP.

Otago Witness, Issue 3782, 7 September 1926, Page 12

THE POTATO CROP.

Once tlic land will permit of cultivation in the spring‘of the year it is customary to prepare a suitable area for the main crop of potatoes. In dry districts it may be feasible to grow potatoes on the flat, but in wet districts and on heavy land the ridge system is preferable. When planted on the flat the sets arc cither placed in the furrow, and earth turned over them by a plough, or the land may be reduced to a tilth, and the sets let into the ground by means of a spade—a man making holes with a spade, and a boy dropping a potato into each hole across the paddock. They then return, and fresh holes are made parallel to the first line, or the seed tubers may be “dibbled” in with a thick stick and covered with earth. Tha crop must be kept free of surface weeds by Continued hand lioeings and horse hoeings, until the plants are high enough to earth up. It is u matter of choice whether the seed potatoes are cut or left whole, the main factors being whether the tubers are of strong vitality, free of disease, and last, but not least, of satisfactory ancestry—that is to say, whether the seed potatoes are from a heavy yielding strain. It is recognised that immature potatoes—that is, those which have not been ripened unduly—grow more vigorously than those not so matured. Potatoes, for instance, from a crop which has been checked by frost, usually give better results than seed gathered from some crop which has

ripened early in summer time, or possibly been half-baked in some hot locality. For best results good drainage and soil richness is essential, while a certain amount of acidity is no deterrent to the yield of crop—in fact, liming should not be tolerated. The more cultivation given the potato crop the better. No blanks in the potato field should be allowed, as this crop occupies the land for a lengthy period, and all “misses” should grow something useful on the farm. As one might imagine, the potato responds to liberal manuring, and one containing potash, nitrogen, and phosphorus may be recommended. A fertile soil, well-selected seed potatoes, and deep and thorough cultivation are the chief factors which go towards ensuring a heavy yield of this important foodstuff, and just as at Home it is,customary for potato growers to replenish their stocks from Scotland, so should northern growers look to Otago and Southland for sound tubers. As it is with stock, so may it be with many of our farm seeds and plants—they will be drawn from lands which arc unfavourable to those pests which menace their best development.