, 1902-04-17
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The Effect Of Different Amounts Of Water Used in
Irrigation Upon the Yield Of Potatoes.

(Press Bulletin issued by Wyoming Agricultural College,
In connection witt, general work in determining the duty
of water for various crops according to the usual practice OF the
irrigator, the Wyoming Experiment Station has carried on
some experiments during the past two seasons 10 determine
what effect the insufficient and excessive use OF water. as COM
monty understood, has upon the yield OF potatoes.
A more full account of the experiment will be produced i'll
a bulletin to appear shortly, the facts and results being given
briefly here.
The potato crop is one which can be grown quite success
fully under our conditions, and a more thorough knowledge of
its moisture requirements will be of value in aiding farmers to
make conditions so far as they are able to control them as ia
vorable as possible to the production OF a large and profitable
crop.
Although the terms insufficient, excessive, and correct are
used in describing the different amounts of water used. still it
is only in a relative sense. Practically nothing is known as vet
regarding the correct amount OF water to use to produce maxi
mum Yields or the times at which this water should be applied.
The experiments here reported being mainly to determine if
the usual practice is or is not the best. the amount OF water
which a skillful irrigator thought correct is taken as the stan
dard and amounts which in his opinion were not enough or too
cessive. respectively.
While such an experiment depends more or less upon the
Judgment OF the lrr'gator and must tor this reason be more or
less unsatisfactory, still it is thought that the variation in the
yields produced by the use of varying amounts of water is
shown very we'll The irrigator was not limited TO the amount
of water he should use or the time at which he should use it.
he merely being instructed to irrigate one plat with what he
considered the correct amount OF water and on the others apply
larger and smaller amounts respectively.
The plats were laid off adjacent to each other so that
conditions of soil, temperature and the like should be nearly
similar, and all plats were planted with a uniform quantity and
kind OF seed. The plats are designated respectively as A, B,
and c. Plat A was intended to receive an insufficient amount
of water, Plat B the correct amount and Plat c too much.
The resultant Yields do not represen the ,yar,,e in th;s
locality as hailstorns in the forenart nj each NJ the se,son
in which the work was carried N Seriously Injured the orov1t,
of the plants. The average Weld in years when conditions have
been normal has been over 100 bushels q acr but the largest
weld in the last two years upon the Mats exnerimented mon has
been but 90 bushels ner acre. The comparative valuc Of the
results was not impaired. however. for each of the Mats was
affected alike and the growth which the plants made after tte
storm indicates the comparative value of the treatment which
each of the several plats received
The Yields from Plats A r. and G in 1ooo yer of both
marketable and small tuters. mo 22,o and ,o6o mounds ner
acre respectively. and the CORRESPONDING dentbs 81 water o.
ceived by the piats from irrigation and rainfall were annroxi-
mately ( -. and 10 inches. In Ioo1 the Yields IN the RESPECTIVE
plats were 3a,2. 2os6. and IA pounds ner acre and the cor
responding dentbs Of water ~ 5, and a inches
The results show for both seasons that the plats receiving
the largest amounts of water gave the largest Weld of market
able tubers and the greatest total weight. "
A noint of considerable Interest ;s fbe ,.ri,t;o, IN tbs
amount of water which in the opinion of the farmer was -
rect, too much. and not enough, In 1901 the Mat sunnosed 70
have received an insufficient amount If water actually, received
five times as much as the dat which was sunnosed to have been
irrigated correctly This is a n illustration of how y;de1v The
irripators Judgment NAV as To The water reorrer,ents
of the same crops under precisely similar conditions T. n,st
receive an insufficient amount of water cav the smallest vieLIs
Perhaps the most interesting thing found in the res,lts is thn
relation between the Weld per acre inch and the total amount Of
water supplied. While in both seasons the heaviest yield was
voh1a II will 0f conpca ra1rsr~ n 1or~o e,.,lo~ e 49,