Newport daily independent., 1918-02-19
GROW MORE POTATOES.

By J. s. Knox, Horticulturist, Agri-
 cultural Extension Division, Univer-
 sity of Arkansas.
 No other vegetable is of so great importance to the world at the pres- ent time as is the Irish potato. That the United States and her allies will need a larger amount of these this year than ever before is the opinion of those who are in a position to know. Arkansas can help wonderfully in the
 production of this extra amount of potatoes if every farmer, whether ten ant or land owner, will plant from
 one-half to one acre of potatoes this spring. sa ali itilis
 The importance of good seed cam not be over-estimated. No matter what the soil may be, or how ideal the climate, rainfall or cultivation, we cannot hope for maximum yield from poor seed. If you have supply
 of home grown potatoes from your fall crop that are in good condition plant these. All potatoes wheth- CT or not disease can be seen on them should be- disinfectd before planting. This is done by soaking tile potatoes for two hours in solution made by mixing one pint of 40 per cent formal
 dehyde with, 30 gallons of water. The I treatment should be made just before the potatoes are to be cut for plant ing
 The question of fertilizers is one which is not given enough considera- tion by the average grower. In the potato section of the United States, especially in the trucking sections along the Atlantic coast, the farmers use from 1000 to 2,OO0 pounds of com
 mercia1 fertilizer per acre, The root system of the potato is relatively small, thus making it neces- sary to have an abundance of availa- ble plant food for its use. If as high as 500 to 1000 pounds of fertilizer is to be used per acre, 1t is considered
 best to broadcast the greater part of
 it, reserving 300 to 400 pounds to ap- ply in the drill with the; potatoes,
 being suee to mix this with the soil before the potatoes are planted l It isy best to use at least medium sized potatoes for planting and these ! should be cut into small pieces. A
 medium sized potato will usually
 make from three to four pieces large
 enough to plant, and if possible each piece should have two eyes or sec- tions from which sprouts will come. l The small potatoes do not furnish sufficient plant food to nourish the
 young plants until they can get hold
 on the soil; consequently weak plants
 are produced For the, spring plant ] ing depth of about three inches. is ] considered sufficient to plant, but for
 the fall crop from four to six inches ! is not too deep to plant because at i that time it is often the case that we
 have to get down deeper to get suf-
 ficient moisture for the potato to 1 sprout
 It pays to keep the soil clean dur
 ing the growing period of the potato. It is doubted if ever a deeper cultiva-
 tion than two or three inches is nee
 essary. This should, however be done
 at least once every two weeks, or,
 in case of rains, as soon thereafter
 as the soil will permit. Along with
 the cultivation should come the spray
 ing of the vines to control bugs and
 blight. The spraying seems to keep I the leaves in far better condition, and
 in actual tests where bugs or blight
 had been seen, the yield of potatoes
 sprayed was better than those un-
 sprayed. The Red Bliss or Bliss Triumph is
 one of the very best early varieties
 for! us to grow. Early Ohio and Irish
 Cobbler are also good. The early ma
 turing varieties like the above. are considered ~ hest for the South because they mature before tfs eScesslSe neal of summer, and are likely to k@p pst- lter than the other varieties which ma lture later Plant a patch of potatoas land help your Uncle Sam to win the Fwar. If you will have seed potatoes tto sell, write to the Extension Diyt ision, Old State House, Little Rock Ark, ',telliRg us how many ssasnels Iyour have what .yss.s.Sfies and price f2er bushel. The marketing man will IAdXEeFtise them for you free of charee Itnd can doubtless find a buyer. ss