Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1920-04-15
CARE SHOULD De USED THIS
YEAR BECAUSE or PRICE
AND SCARCITY.
HALF OF SEED POTATOES
PLANTED ARE INFECTED
Black Leg, Black Sourf, Common
Soab and Dry Root Often Found In
Sesd-Diseases Cut Down Stand,
Injure Roots and Mar Potatoes
How TO Treat Seed.

with potatoes going to record
prices 1t behooves the grower to use
every known means to protect his
crop from disease. for America this
year must raise an unprecedented
crop. Half Of the seed potatoes that
are planted each spring are infected
with some plant diseases. Black leg,
black scurf. common scab and dry
rot are tho commonest Of these dis
eases. They cut down the stand. In
jure the roots, mar the potatoes and
reduce the yield.
Black leg is most severe In the
early varieties and 1t ia not uncom-
mon to find from to 10 per cent or
the hills killed by this pest before
the crop Is half mature. 1t Is carried
in and on the seed and not in the
soil.
Black scurf attacks both early and
late varieties. It rots off the roots,
girdles the stems and stunts the
plant, so that only small potatoes re-
suit. 1t forms dirt-like specks (scle-
rotia) on the ripe potatoes. 1t lives
over in the soil as well as on the
seed.
Common scab is very prevalent on
seed stock and annually more Of soil
is becoming infested. A scabby crop
Of potatoes means no profit. They
are classed as culls by the dealers
and as undesirable by the housewife.
Treatment of tho Seed.
Seed treatment will reduce loss and
increase the yield at only small eX-
pense. The usual method of seed
treatment consists Of soaking the
seed from IL to 2 hours in either
corrosive sublimate or formaldehyde
solution and then allowing it to dry.
This is time consuming and not con-
ducive to rapid progress at a sea-
son of the year when the crop must
be planted. AS result, the grower
all too often omits seed treatment
and takes his chances on the crop.
Recently the treatment has been so
modified as to make it unnecessary
to practice the long soaking. The po-
tatoes rmerely are dipped for two
minutes in hot formaldehyde solution
and allowed to dry. Its efficiency
has been demonstrated experimental
ly in the laboratory and in the field
the past three years. FNormaldehyde
is more active hot than cold. 1t pen
etrates faster and kills more rapid
ly. This modification in the stand
ard method of seed treatment should
make II practical for, every potato
grower to treat his seed and thereby
increase his yield and profit
Formaidehyde Solution.
The solution is prepared as fol-
lows, Fornaldehyde GO per cent So
lution), two pints; water, 80 gallons.
Dip potatoes two minutes at 11s de-
grees to 1872 degrees r. Pile potatoes
six to Ieight inches deep and cover
with the wet sacks 3for sixty minutes
and tffeh allow to dry.
SmaM lots Of potatoes may readily
be treated in q common fifteen-gal-
lon washboiler or similar metal tub
on an ordinary cook stove. The So
luton IL made up and placed in the
boiler over the open fire until It is
heated to 112 degrees F., when the
boiler Is set on tho floor and the po-
tatoes immersed tn haf-bushel lots
in q sunny sack. If the solution be-
comes too cool, as it probably will, 1t
can be placed over the open fire.
With larger lots, the treatment can
best be made In a sixty to eighty
gallon tank or a hogshead cut in two,
in which Is placed a sheet iron heat
er. The solution at 1872 degrees does
not injure or delay termination, ac-
cording to trials made In the field in
the past three years. ..l