Mountain Home maverick. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1906-1911, 1907-05-02
FORMULA FOR
POTATO SCAB
From Bulletin Issued by
the Idaho Agricultural
Experiment Station


1905 an experiment WAS undertaken |,
for the control OF potato scab. The
results were published in bulletin
No. 50. This year the subject was
taken up again from partly differ
.ent standpoint. 1t has been thought |
best to incorporate into short press |
bulletin the results of the two sea-
sons work.
In 1905 the experiment was of a |
three-fold nature:
l. To determine whether treated |
seed potatoes, planted in ground
where much scab had prevailed the
year before, as well as in land adj
jacent to such scabby ground, would
give crop free from scab.
2. Of the three flung icides, corro-
-sive sublimatc, formalin, and sui
phur, which is the best.
8. Whether small potatoes, raised
from large potatoes the previous
year, will reproduce small potatoes
or large.
The results in almost every case
we're very conclusive. A plat of
about two acres was planted to po-
tatoes, the ground having been thor
oughIy plowed, then disked, then
narrowed, and finally marked out
with a pillow for planting. The seed
was treated as follows:
1. Corrosive Sublimato. An in
tense poison and should DO handled
with care, guarding against using
the vessel in which the substance
has been dissolved for any such pur-
pose as mixing feed, or even put
ting anything into it intended to DC
used for man or beast The poison
was poured into warm water in
wooden tub and stirred vigorously
with a iath until dissolved. Used
40 ounces sublimato to 90 gallons OF
water. When thoroughly dissolved,
out potatoes and sack into the
1iqudi, and left entirely immersed
for two hours. Then took out, let
surplus water run back into the
vessel, put potatoes out to dry or
let dry in the sack, and cut for
planting.
q. Formalin. Harmless to touch
and not injurious to seed potatoes
Put 80 gallons of water in barrel,
in which put full pint of CONNER
scial formalin or forma1dehyde. In
rnersed sack and potatoes. and LETT
for one and one nalf or two horus-
Then took out, drained off surplus
water, and set out sack to dry
Many sacks can be treated with the
one addition of the corrosive subl1-
mate or the formalin.
3. Sulphur The tubers were
cut to size, wet just before needed
for planting, and rolled in ul-tesh
1phur.
Results. i may quote my sum-
mary from bulletin No. 81.
/. Rolling seed potatoes in sui
phur, as has been shown at other
stations, will prevent scab little, ii
at all.
2. Treated potatoes, planted II
soil scabby from last years crop,
will produce a scabby crop
8. Well treated potatoes taken
from treated sacks and planted III
new ground, will produce compar-
atively scab-free tubers, whether
the seed were clean or scabby be-
fore treating. AS the new ground
approached the scabby soil of the
previous year, MORO anu iiiOi oO0A
could be observed, but in no case
much.
a. Formalin gave in this exper'
iment Just as good result as zorro
.sive sublimate. That being thu
case, / would advise all to use it, a
it is much safer than the other fun
gicide.
s. The small seed, i'll this cas-
however, in slightly moister an
richer soil, gave as good, and in
few cases even better results tha
the large seed.
1t was my desire in the expert
ment for 1906 to find out whethe
by planting very seabby potatoes
which had been well treated, /
ground several hundred yards ava
from that in which my former e1
periments had been conducted,
could get a crop absolutely FIRE
from scab. Forma1in alone wa
used; in this case a pint to abol
fifteen gallons of water, and IT
tubers were immersed in the sacl
and left soaking for fully two hour
Large potatoes alone were used, bi
some of them we're so gnarled
the scab as hardly II be reCogn1
able The ground was plowed, the
narrowed, then cross plowed al
again narrowed. The seed WI
-,1au+ed deem while fine ground WI