The Hattiesburg news., 1915-02-17
FARMERS MUST AVOID
DISEASED POTATOES
A. & M. DIRECTOR GIVES WARN.
ING TO THE TRUCK
GROWERS.

Truck farmers anu gardeners III
Mississippi should exercise much eau.
ton in purchasing Irish potatoes for
planting purposes during the spring
months. according to ]. F. Mckay, di-
rector ofrthe A. & M. College exten.
sion work In discussing the subject
Mr.. Mckay says:
Gardeners and truckers of the state
are now planting Irish potatoes. Much
of the seed stock being offered in va
rious parts of the state is badly in
fected with the scab disease. Especial
ly is this true of the Minnesota and
northwestern stock. The fact is, some
of this is so bad it ought to be con-
demned. For a number of years, this
section has been dumping on the South
hundreds of carloads of seed potatoes
many of which are not fit to plant or
eat. This is especially true of the
Red Triumph variety. The white vari-
eties, such as Cobblers, Rose, are not
so bad. We have been steadily failing
more or less on our spring Irish pota-
to crop for the last year or two. This
season this seed is worse than ever.
| There is some government-inspected
Red Triumph coming from the east
that shows up quite clean, but the ma
/ iority of our seed is coming out of the
northwest territory, and in many in
stances bought because it is cheaper
AS it is too late for growers to pro.
vide themselves with better seed, this
scab can be killed by using govern
ment formula, which is one ounce of
foTmaldehyde to about two gallons
of water. The potatoes soaked in this
solution for an hour or two dried and
then cut This can be obtained
through your local druggist. Ask for
40 per cent strength, If you can not
obtain this article, rolling the potatoes
in slaked lime will have a tendency to
lessen disease, and Is a good stimu-
liant for the growth.
This scab disease does not always
infect the new crop, where growing
conditions are good, but is a cause
, of many failures and much poor prod
uct. The disease Is communicated to
the land and will affect the crop 70;
years where the ground becomes in
oculated with in.
: Our final remedy will be to grow oul
&. own seed stock in the fall. This has
been done at several points in the
, state, notably by an Irish potato clul
!. at Hathorn, Miss. In 1913 about TWEEN
; ty growers at this point grew on'
}, thousand bushels Of spendid fall po
:. tatoes, making better yield than IL
!. the spring, following a special cul
. tural method for fall growing. Il
, 1914 they planted a spring crop from
this seed and produced fourteen cars
-. and last fall they made enough t
:. plant their crop this spring and sol
about a thousand bushels to a neigh
>, boring town for seed. There are som
, other portions Of the state where the
. are making this fall crop. The secon
crop Of fall, southern grown, are usl
, ally free of the scab disease, an
- while they do not start off as early |
| the springtime, better stands are o.
= tanned, and the yield has been un
~ formly larger. We are fully col
- vinced after two years study of tn
v crop In various parts of the tsate, tn;
" We can make not only our own see
but much of our winter table stoc
if proper methods are pursued in pre-
aration and selection of land ar
proper culture given, which diffe
somewhat from spring method.