One Thousand Questions in California Agriculture Answered Part 30

Potato b.a.l.l.s.

I find in potato writings of forty years ago that the seed from the potato b.a.l.l.s which form on the tops of the plants is recommended for growing the best potatoes. In later books I find no mention of them and all are advised how to cut the tubers to get seed potatoes.

The seed of the potato plant which is found in the "b.a.l.l.s" which develop on the tops of the plant is only valuable for the origination of new varieties, with the chance, of course, that most of them will be inferior to the tubers produced by the plant which bears the seed.

Therefore, these seeds are of no commercial importance. There has also sometimes developed upon the top of the plant what is called an aerial tuber, which is even of less value than the seed ball, because it does not contain seed nor is it good as a tuber.

Forty years ago there was a great demand for newer and better kinds of potatoes which has, since that time, been largely supplied, and commercial potato-growing consists in multiplying the standard varieties which best suit the soil and the market. This is done by planting the tuber itself, which is really a root-cutting and therefore reproduces its own kind. Those who are originating new kinds of potatoes still use seed from the b.a.l.l.s, either taking their chances by natural variation or, by hybridizing the blossoms, increasing the chances for variation from which desirable varieties are taken by selection, to be afterward multiplied by growth from the tubers.

Seed-Ends of Potatoes.

Is it bad practice to plant the seed-ends of potatoes?

The seed-end of the potato is the least valuable part of it, but it is better probably to plant than to reject it.

The Moon and Potato Planting.

Is there any foundation to the oft-repeated story about potatoes in the light of the moon running to tops and the dark of the moon to spuds?

If we paid any attention to the moon in planting, we should plant in the dark of the moon so as to give the plant opportunity to make use of whatever additional light the full moon afforded.

Planting Whole Potatoes.

One man states the only way to cut seed is to take a potato and cut the ends off and not divide the potato any more; or, in other words, a whole potato for each seed.

Good results are obtained by planting whole potatoes, but in that case there is no advantage in removing the ends.

How to Cut Seed Potatoes.

Would it pay in returns to use large potatoes for seed in preference to culls?

Large potatoes are better than culls, but medium-sized potatoes are better than either. Many experiments have been made to determine this.

At the Arkansas station whole tubers two to three inches in diameter yielded 18 per cent more than small whole tubers three-quarters to one and one-quarter inches in diameter, and large cut tubers yielded 15.8 per cent more than small cut tubers.

Cutting Potatoes to Single Eyes.

Some say only one eye to a piece; others say several eyes - which is better?

In one experiment potatoes cut to single eyes with each piece weighing one-sixteenth of an ounce yielded 44 bushels to the acre, while single eyes on two-ounce pieces yielded 177 bushels to the acre. Experiments in Indiana showed that the yield usually increased with the weight of the set and that the exact number of eyes per cutting is relatively unimportant.

Potato Scab.

Can potatoes be treated in any way before planting to prevent the new ones from being what is called "scabby"?

There are two successful treatments for scab in potatoes. One is dipping in a solution of corrosive sublimate. Dissolve one ounce in eight gallons of water and soak the seed potatoes in this solution for one and one-half hours before cutting. This treatment kills the scab spores which may be upon the exterior of the potatoes. More recently, however, to avoid danger in handling such a rank poison as corrosive sublimate, formaldehyde has been used, and one pint of commercial formaldehyde, as it is bought in the stores, is diluted with thirty gallons of water, and potatoes are soaked in this for two hours. Thirty gallons of this dip ought to treat about fifty bushels of potatoes.

Double-Cropping with Potatoes.

I am told that here two crops of potatoes can be raised by planting the second crop in August. I have five acres which will be ready to dig in July. Can I dig these Potatoes and use them for seed at once for another crop, or won't they grow? I have a crop of barley, and as it is heading out now, I want to put potatoes on the ground after I take the barley off. I have plenty of water to irrigate.

If your potatoes ripen in July and you allow those which you desire for seed to lie upon the ground and become somewhat greenish, they are likely to sprout well for a second crop. They should not, however, be planted immediately. Whether you get a second crop successfully or not depends upon how early the frosts come in your district. Whether you get potatoes after barley or not depends also upon how much moisture there remains in the soil. By irrigating thoroughly after harvesting the grain and then plowing deeply for potatoes, you would do vastly better than to plant in dry ground and irrigate afterward.

When to Plant Potatoes.

I have been puzzled to understand Potato growing in California. Do you have more than one cropping season, and if so, about what dates are they due?

Every month in the year potatoes are being put into the ground and being taken out of the ground somewhere in California. We have, then, practically a continuous planting and harvesting season. There is, however, a division possible to make in this way: Plantings undertaken in September and October are for winter supplies of new potatoes, which begin about the holidays and continue during the winter. There is also in southern California a planting beginning in January, which might be called the earliest planting for the main crop, and other plantings for the main crop in the central and northern parts of the State begin in February and continue until May, according to the character of the land; that is, whether it is upland, on which the planting is earlier, or whether it is lowland along the rivers where excessive moisture may render the land unsuitable until April or May. The harvesting of the main crop then begins in May and continues during the whole of the summer, according to the character of the land cropped over, lapping the planting time for early potatoes first mentioned. It is also true by use of properly matured seed one can secure, in some places, two crops a year, if there is sufficient inducement therefor. Thus it comes about that we are continually planting and digging potatoes according to local conditions and the possibility of selling advantages.

Keeping Potatoes.