American Fork citizen. [volume] (American Fork, Utah) 1912-1979, 1915-03-27
Farmers Given Talk
By Or. BaIIantyne
County Farm Demonstration Shows
How TO Treat Seed Wheat and Pc
tatOcs for Planting.

Mr.. A. b. Ballantyne, County Farm
demonstration spent Monday In Pleas
ant Grove. Tuesday I'm American Fork
and Wednesday In Lehi giving talks
and demonstrations on the proper
treatment of wheat, potatoes and
other seeds preparatory to planting.
He gave a new treatment for wheat,
and showed by actual illustration the
different kinds OF potato diseases and
how to treat them.
At all the meetings there was
good attendance of farmers and the
talks and demonstrations should {
much good. At the request of many
of the farmers. we print the formulas
used by DR.. Ballantyne:
Formulas for the treatment of po-
tato diseases and grain smuts. For
Rhizoctonia, or rosette, and common
scab use water solution OF cor
rosive sublimate four ounces to thirty
gallons OF water. Soak the potatoes
for one and one-half hours in this
solution. It will be necessary to stir
the water for ten minutes after put
ting the powder In, as 1t dissolves
slowly in cold water. This solution
must never be made in any metal tub
or barrel; always In wooden vessels
only. After four patches of potatoe'
have been soaked in this solution, q
| remaining solution must be poured
out on the ground where II will soak
| In readily, the barrel washed fire.
from faint and n new solution
Under proper method of handling. 30
gallons of solution Will treat about
l6 bushels. Treated potatoes can be
kept long time before planting;
but must not be fed to stock nor
used for culinary purposes as they
are highly poisonous. q
| For Fusarium wilt the only method
that can be used Is TO plant potatoes
that are free from the disease, which
can be shown only by cutting off Z
| stem end OF the potato. The fall So
lection OF seed pototoes from the hill
| liz absolutely necessary In controlling
this disease. See that the potatoe
are not planted on ground that has
had pototoes during the last four
years: and remember that rhizoctonia
| disease lives OH the roots OF the com.
mon pig-weed. the Russian thistle,
/ the red root and ground cherry, 81
/ these weeds must be controlled II we
expect to control the various potato
diseases. Remember also that Ctaf
county losses annually from 40 to 81
thousand dollars from the results OF
hese diseases, which can be controll-
ed as Is shown by the Red River,
MINI. district. which by following the
method outlined above has reduced
the loss to less than one per cent
Especial request Is made that ali
II farmers using this solution and these
methods for the control OF potato di-
seases shall communicate with the
county demonstration, stating the acre
age. This is 10 enable the people OF
the county and state TO estimate the
alue OF the work OF the county agent
troll of covered or sinking smut
,hlch is most commonly seen around
the threshing outfit, asa fine dust
and which occurs in the kernal OF the
ripened grain as black smut use
he following form of treatment
This Is effective for wheat and bar
leyD-A water solution of 40 per cent
rormalin; one pint to 40 or so gallons
water, the wheat To be dipped N
his, and the barley soaked Tor three
minutes, drained aud dried. II Is de-
sired TO spread the grain out after
treatment, II should be soaked ten
minutes, then spread out to dry an d
canvas that has been dipped In IN,
formalln.
For the covered and loose SHUTS Of
oats, slightly stronger solution Il
used. Usually about one pint of for
malin TO 80 gallons Of water, and thu
oats soaked the same length Of time
and dried In the same way as fol
wheat and barley. For loose smuts Of
wheat and barley, It viii be necessar,
Ia use the hot water treatment ai
the sporcs which cause the dlscas.