Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1919-01-28

! Handling the sweet FoTaGo crop
| The sweet potato has come to be
one of the most important crops in
! the south. We can produce it. very
| easily and obtain large yields per
| acre. 1t is a crop that responds well
to fertilizers and it is adapted for
| growth on large areas of land. 1t
would be one of the most profitable
crops we could produce were we to
establish a better method of har-
| vesting and protecting it from dam
| age until the glut of the market with
| potatoes in the fall is over and the
| demand at remuneratiVe prices sets
in and continues until next harvest.
| Can this be done? 1t certainly can.
in view of the results which may
| be attained. The purpose and o.
| iect of this article is to present,
| therefore, in succinct form a sum-
mary of data which has been de-
| veloped by the division Of plant path
ology of the Georgia State College
| of Agriculture with reference to
the handling and management OF
which it suffers, and the, means
| which should be employed for their
| control and eradication.
The production of sweet potatoes
| in Georgia amounted to over H.
| 100000 bushels last year, of which
more than 30 per cent was lost as
| a result of comfortable diseases. AT
| 81 per bushel this was a loss to
| the state of over Sic, 100000, or a
| loss per acre of $50 to 500. This
| be something of an increase over
| that of 1917. Presumably the loss
will be equally severe.
1t should be recognized that po-
| tatoes must be classed with fruit
| (apples, peaches, etc) crops when
harvesting and storage conditions
are considered. From the stand
point of price alone the potato crop
average annual return per acre from
potatoes is greater than from ap-
ples-why not the same considera-
| ton in handling and storage?
do not attack the roots except when
wounded (broken skinned or bruls-
ed. In it's healthy, normal state
the root is quite resistant to dis
ease under dry conditions. ,o.oa o,,+
and if the work is carefully done
the damage to the' roots need not
exceed 10 per cent: Usually, how.
ever, it is much lighter, especially
when the soil is hard and dry and
the pillow of poor type. HarVestlng
should take place when the soil is
moist enough to break easily and
the pillow should be set deep to
avoid. the roots; When coulters are are
be set shallow and wide apart
| Every precaution must be taken to
| avoid wounding the potatoes as
they are removed from the soil
to assist in uncovering the roots,
which are then ready to be picked
out by hand, caked soil rubbed OIL,
and placed on dry soil so that all
to the air and the SUMS heat for six
or eight hours. AS the potatoes
are dug they may be sorted, rough
ly, into three lots: the perfect pc,
tatoes (primesl in one lot, the sound
(seconds) in another, and the injur,-
ed potatoes and culls in third.
This facilitates loading and assists
| the workers at the storage house
Many potatoes are bruised during
the process of loading and unloading.
If the strips from which the baskets
| are made show sharp edges, the
baskets should be lined with burlap.
The same is true of the wagon box.
care-never thrown or dropped. A
bruise renders a potato more sus-
ceptible to disease break makes
it an easy victim to rot.
AS the potatoes come in from the
field they should be sorted again
none but firm, well-colored, unbroken,
unbruised healthy potatoes are tit
for storage. Al lothers should be
disposed of at once for quick con
sumption or fed to stock. Cooking
p
material and destroys disease organ
isms. Sound, unbroken potatoes may
be seasoned and will keep. for some
| time under favorable conditions, out
/ this class of stock should have no
| place in the storage house. Diseased
| potatoes should be fed without. de-
| lay, before rendered unfit for ut1liza-
ton. = .,
If partly decayed potatoes are fed
to stock it must be borne in MIND
that the resulting manure Except
when potatoes are cooked) will carry
the diseased spores and, if applied
to the field will infect the new crop
of potatoes.
Potato diseases are of two kinds:
| those which attack the root before
| harvesting, and those which attack
after digging or while the potato is
| in storage The latter class is known
as "moulds" and prove very destruc-
tive to foodstuffs generally.
Black rot is the most common and
the most destructive of the field dis
eases. Usually it appears on the root
| as roundish, darlI-cOlOred spot with
a rather sunken, definite margin. At
this stage the disease is confined 70
the skin which may be more or less
roughened and cracked; Later the
disease penetrates the flesh, produc-
! ing a dry black rot. In storage as
the potato shrivels the black rot
spots take on a dull, metallic luster
| which is quite characteristic.
Black rotted potatoes when cooked