The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1916-10-16
HARVESTING and STORING
SWEET POTATOES
Seemingly Hardy Roots Need as
Careful Handling as Apples And
Congratulations Suggested.

Careful Handling as Apples An,
OrangeS-Methods Suggested.
Washington, D. c., Oct. IA
Sweet potatoes must be harvested
and stored with the utmost care,sa!
SPECIALISTS of the U. S. Department o.
Agriculture, if their production is tt
prove profitable. Any bruising oi
the roots, either in the field or il
storage, will greatly increase the
percentage of loss. In storage the
temperature at which the potatoes
are kept is also an important factor
in determining their keeping quail
ties.
Sweet potato growers should be
sure before digging that the roots
are mature, and they should select
a time when the ground is dry and
the day bright. If frost nips the
plants, the roots should be dug with
in the next few days and, if this is
impossible, the dead plants should
be cut off at the ground with hoe
so that in rotting they will not carry
the decap to the roots.
Care should be taken in plowing
out the potatoes to avoid all bruis-
ing by contact between the imple-
ments used and the roots. The soil
should then be scratched away from
the potatoes and they should be left
exposed for several hours to dry.
Picking should be in padded boxes,
baskets, or crates. The roots should
be carefully placed, not thrown into
the picking receptacles. Although
sweet potatoes do not have the ap-
pearance of being easily injured,
they require, in fact, as careful
handling as oranges and apples.
! Handling should be minimized to
as great an extent as possible. This
makes desirable a rough sorting in
the field by placing the largest po-.
tatoes in one picking container, the
smallest in another, and the bruised
in a third. In no case should sacks
be used either as temporary con-
tainers or for marketing purposes.
Diseased potatoes should be placed
in none of the assortments. Such
roots should not be left permanently
in the field, however, to contaminate
the soil, but should be gathered and
fed to pigs. M
Proper storage facilities are valu-
able to the grower in that they do.
away with the necessity of selling the
crop on digging, greatly lessen the
heavy losses sustained when the
primitive storage method of burying,
the potatoes is employed, and per-
nit holding for good prices in winter
or spring. A special storage house,
such as many southern farmers have
built, is advocated by the Depart;
ment specialists. Such a structure
with capacity of 1000 to 2,500l
bushels can be built at a cost Of
from 500 to $500, depending on the;
availability of lumber and other
material. The storage house should
have double walls to insulate against,
heat and cold and false floor to Ia
ciitate heat. If bins are used theD
should have Slated sides Hrsl1es 50;
facilitate circulation of air.
Sweet potatoes may be satisfac7
torily stored in bins, but where eco
nomically practicable, it is advisable
to store in crates or hampers, since
such a practice reduces pressure on
the roots, permits better ventilation,
and confines such rotting as may
start to relatively restricted space.
In some sections the potatoes are
stored in the hampers in which they
are to be marketed, being removed
just before shipment and resorted.
When storage is to be in bins or
other receptacles these should, IL
they have been used before, be thoro-
ughIy disinfected by spraying with
solutions of formalin or copper sui
phate. The former should be used
in the proportion of l pint to 80 gal
Ions of water. The copper sulphate
should be used at the rate of one
pound to rs gallons of water. With
either solution second spraying
should be given after "a hours.
When first placed in the storage
house sweet potatoes should be cur
ed by being kept, by the use of
fire, in a temperature of from 80 to
80 degrees F. This curing tempera-
ture should be maintained for from
10 days to weeks and should then
be gradually reduced to about SIS de-
grees and kept at as near this point
as possible. After this, the ventila-
tors should be left open during the
day in clear, warm weather, and
kept closed during the nights and in
damp or rainy weather. When the
temperature in the house goes below
SO degrees F., the house should be
opened if the outside temperature is
higher, or a fire should be started to
raise the temperature to the desired
point, since once the potatoes have
become thoroughly chilled their
quality is impaired and they are
more susceptible to decay. In order
to maintain the proper temperatures,
farmers should install accurate ther-
mometers in their storage houses.
Further information on this sub
ject may be obtained from Farmers
Bulletin No. 548.