BUMPER CROP

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLV, Issue 21110, 9 August 1938, Page 6

BUMPER CROP

South America Has Own Potatoes Reason For Absence of Inquiry Last year New Zealand secured a very timely market for potatoes with | South America and many shipments were forwarded. This season growers in South Canterbury have wondered what has become of the market and the answer is provided in the following article which appeared in “The Buenos Aires Herald” of June 10: A bumper potato crop is indicated by the estimates for 1937-38 issued by the Ministry of Agriculture. Excluding the proportion which is not considered apt for commercial transactions, the crop is estimated at 807,000 tons, an increase of 485,135 tons, equivalent to 151 per cent over last year’s extremely meagre production. A rise of 143,266 tons, or 22 per cent., is shown over the annual average for the last five years. The area sown is given as 127.029 hectares (a hectare is approximately 21 acres), of which 113.449 have been harvested, with an average yield of 8.392 kilos per hectare (a kilo is approximately 2 l-51b). Total production amounts to 952,000 tons. The Ministry considers that this year’s favourable results are mostly due to the employment of good seed, which sufficed to offset such adverse factors as lack of opportune rains, untimely droughts, and the bicho rnoro. The average yield is far in excess of the figures registered in recent years, as shown below, in kilos per hectare: Years. Yield. 1932- 5.589 1933- 6,664 1934- .. 5,240 1935- 4,247 1936- 37 4.086 1937- 8.392 The area harvested in each of the above years, and the production considered apt under the existing regulations, has been as follows, in hectares and tons respectively:

It will be noticed from the above that this year's production is the highest for the period, with the sole exception of 1933-34. Owing to last year’s disastrous slump in production, 204,439 tons of foreign potatoes had to be imported, compared with 124,019 in 1935-36 and only 627 in the preceding year.

Area Years. harvested. Production 1932-33 .. .. 140.072 785,456 1933-34 .. .. 137,945 919.306 1934-35 .. .. 148,035 775,772 1935-36 .. .. 121.500 516,272 1936-37 .. .. 78.780 321,865 1937-38 .. .. 113,499 807.000