Camas Prairie chronicle. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1901-1917, 1917-05-04
Relative Vigor of Potato Eyes

AluOuS pOldlo SIoHeIS IneIe ndS III
ways been a great deal of discussion
concerning the influence of the position
Of the eye upon the yield that may be
expected. Upon examination of any
potato we find at one end cluster o.
well developed buds or eyes; this end
is called by growers the "seed end OF
blossom end"
The other end of the tuber common
ly has only one or two eyes, and some
times the only resemblance to an eye
is the slight indentation where the po-
tato was attached to the growing
plant. This is called the ''stem end
and years ago this end was always dis
carded when the seed potato was cut
into pieces for planting. The seed-end
eyes and the other eyes along the body
of the potato were the only ones con-
sidered to be worth planting.
As the price of seed potatoes has ad-
vanced in recent years all the tuber,
including the stem end, has been util-
lied. In order to throw some light
upon the question of the relative vigor
Of tie eyes, the Monmouth County
Farm Demonstration Office has car
ried out a careful, though small, test
of the producing ability of each eye.
Seed potatoes of uniform size and
shape were selected from those which
the farmer was planting. The seed
ends and stem ends were cut off and
kept separate and a piece was also cut
from the middle of each potato. These
were planted by themselves about
thirteen inches apart in a row that
had previously been dressed with a
fertilizer analysing four per cent am
monia and ten per cent phosphoric
acid, at the rate Of 1900 pounds to
the acre.
Marked stakes were placed between
the groups to prevent confusion.
A Difference in Yield
The sprouts from the seed ends
came up quickly and were three to
four inches high before the majority OF
the stem-end sprouts came up. Middle
eye sproues showed a vigor midway
between these two.
This difference in vigor was main
tanned throughout the growing season,
although the difference in vigor of the
vines from the seed end and the mid.
die eyes was less marked than that Of
the vines from the seed end and thC
stem end eyes.
Calculated on the acre basis, We
find that an acre planted from the
seed ends alone would yield 1873 bar
rels; from the middle eyes alone III
barrels, and from the stem ends alone
IA barrels-165 pounds to the barrel
In other words, the seed ends gave al
eighty per cent greater yield than thu
stem ends and twenty per cent greateI
than the middle eyes, while the latte,
gave fifty per cent greater yield thar
the stem ends.
When we realize that the potato il
but an enlarged underground stem
the eyes corresponding to the buds Oh
a fruit tree twig, we can understand
that the difference would be ever
greater in immature seed potatoes, be
cause we know that the terminal bud
or blossom end, natures first anC
hence has greatly superior vigor t.
the other buds in the twig or eyes il
the potato.
There are two conclusions to b.
drawn from this test: First, it will
probably pay the market gardener
who is growing early potatoes to dis
card the stem ends in cutting his seed
potatoes. He will thus get his CROP
off earlier and greater proportion Of
the tubers will reach marketable size
Second, the man who is growing the
potato as a main crop, and is not par
ticularly interested in earliness, should
include good eye from the body Of
the potato with the piece from the
stem end in order to get some of the
vigor Of the seed potato into that ex.
tremity. w. B. Duryee.
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