The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1920-03-11
THE sweet POTATO.
! A MONEY CROP
OF IMPORTANCE
r. Il. Jeter, Soil improvement Com
mittee.

y. tSs vSISE, SOli iiiP1SsSh'S> ''
mittee.
Entering the field In competition
with the other more firmly establish
ed money crops, the southern swee
potato Is rapidly gaining in popularit!
as a field crop of first Importance. On.
OF the greatest drawbacks to its sue
cessful establishment has been that nc
ADEQUATE means of curing and storing
had been advised until the last few
years. With the successful operation
of these potato storage houses, how
ever, the crop can now be marketed
successfully It; is probably one OF
the most cheaply grown crops of the
South and with proper fertilization,
the least fertile lands can be made to
produce excellent yields. Statistics
show that it is an ordinary accom-
plishment to grow crop Of from zoe
to 400 bushels per acre on most any
soil Of average fertility with proper
fertilization.
Possibilities As a Money Crop.
AS to- the money income from the
crop, it must be said that it COM
pares most favorably with cotton. Sta
tistics show that the average return
from an acre of cotton amounts to
about s70.S7 per acre, while the re-
turns from an acre Of potatoes
amounts to $134.19. One grower In
South Carolina reports to the college
that he made a net profit of sl,216.S0
ON four acres, which is return over
three hundred dollars per acre. This
grower was careful to keep an accu'
rate account of all expenses, including
that Of curing, marketing and grad
ing his crop, and his experience shows
the possibilities of the sweet potato
as a money crop for the South. In
fact, It proves the value OF the crop
beyond all question.
Produces Well On Nearly All Soils.
The soil and climatic conditions OF
the lower South are very favorable
to its growth and produce a root much
sweeter and richer in nutriment than
the harder and more starchy tuber
of the more northern states. The po-
tato makes it's best yields in the san
der soils. It will do well on most
any soil that is well drained, but II
grown on soils that are too fertile,
produces q larger amount OF vine at
the expense Of the potatoes. A lght
soil, not too fertile, with a firm sub
soil, gives best results. II the sab
soil is too loose, and not compact, a
large proportion of the roots will be
stringy and unfit for market purposes.
Preparation of the soil is about as
for cotton. The land is broken, laid
off, the fertilizers applied in the rows
and this bedded upon. The ridge is
generally allowed to settle firmly be-
fore the slips or vines are planted.
Some Leading Varieties.
AS to varieties, the Nancy Hall
seems to be the prime favorite at this
time. The Porto Rico and Triumph
varieties are also very popular and
rank with the Nancy Hall as a good
yielder and market favorite. The
southern Queen and Yellow Jersey are
two other varieties which have found
favor with some growers.
Liberal Fertilization important.
The question of fertilizers is, OF
course, related to the kind Of soil on
which the crop is grown. On the
whole the crop needs liberal fertiliza-
ton and responds well to this treat
ment. The sweet potato needs a COM
plete fertilizer and an application Of
Mt least from 800 to 1000 pounds per
acre. Some manure may be applied,
hut It should be understood that this
is an unbalanced plant food, that be-
cause of it's nitrogen content will de-
velop the vine to the detriment OF the
roots if applied in too. large quanti'
ties. The same thing is true OF COM
mercial fertilizer mixture having a
high nitrogen analysis. The crop
needs potash more than do general
aeid crops, since this element seems
to aid in the elaboration Of starch in
the roots. It was found, however, that
during the shortage Of potash, due to
the recent war, that sweet potatoes
would produce well with less amour:
Of potash than had been previously
thought necessary.
For best results the crop must have
q good supply of. readily available
phosphoric acid. A formula cortain-
ing all three of the necessary ele-
ments of plant food would be, for the
coastal plain region, 9 per cent avail
able phosphoric acid, 8 per cent nitro
gen and per cent potash. For the
Piedmont region, good mixture will
contain 9 per cent available paos'
nhoric acid. 2 per cent nitrogen snd