The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1937-03-09
MANYFARNERS
LOSE ON irish
POTATO CROP
But Proper Seed and Pro-
duction Care Bring
High Yield
b. c. D. WHITE

This StatemtHL SSN'''
and would not be made IL
and therein is the story OF sue
cessful potato production. Much
of the information in tins article
is taken from the mternatioha,
Harvester bulletin, More and
Retter Potatoes 20 the Acre.
Irish potatoes are cool wealth
or CROP and should be planted rs
carly i'm the spring aS you can
safely do so. | would plant now
II had my land prepared: Most
of ms have noticed that volunteer
vines most always make the hrst
potatoes for the table.
The following rules are essen.
tial for the successful growing oil
n big crop of potatoes: ~,
/. Have well drained fertile
2. Prepare deep seed bed.
2 Plant seed free from disease
a Plant seed improved by Sc
lection. ,,i,o
until planted. Lao
6 Treat all seed for disease.
I Cultivate thoroughly.
3 Spray for bugs and blight.
o Rotate crops with legumeS'
Don't plant potatoes after pota-
Potatoes will grow in most
any kind of soil but do pest ~
yellow. sandy. or gravelly sou.
To grow a big crop the soil must
no well drained and have an aoun,
dance of available plant food ana
y,n;sturc. In Henderson count!
we are blessed with the corree,
coil types. hut we have negIeetsu
SvnpIying organic matter 20 the
soil with legumes or stable ma ma
nmre This practice will not only
supply plant food for the growing
erop. but conserve moisture 10
well. ..o,oos
sbonld double their weight the laSV
Two weeks of their growth, we can
understand that they must nav nav.
NIort food and moisture when
Needed Since all this plant 1000
can not be supplied by green ma
nnre crops alone. commercial Ter
t;lizer is essential. and should De
used at a rate of not less thah
500 pounds per acre, and perhaps
oo6 10 200 pounds would be
better. The ,5-7-5 or 1856 are the
common analyses used, and are al
right. hut personally l believe that
a fertilizer containing more phoS,,
phate end potash could be used
profitably, especially on our Dot
tom soils.
We should, by all means, pre-
pare a good seed bed, and tins Is
hest done. think, by breaking
land in the fall or early winter.
Pillow deep, as the potatoes are
made in the ground. and a place
should be prepared for them to
make their bed. Cut every fur
row clean and uniform and COM
pletely turn under all vegetation.
In the spring disk as early as
possible but do not work when II
is too wet - blowing when wet
makes clods-as no plant can get
plant food out of clOdS, no mat
ter how full of plant food the
clods may be. After disking use
the drag harrow to make smooth
seed bed.
II makes no difference how fer
tile or well prepared the soil may
be, a large yield cannot be sc,
cured without good seed. Seed
from high-yielding, diSease-free
hills will produce from % to lOC
per cent more than seed careless,
" taken from a common helC
crop. Like produces like, is just
as true with the potato as 1t u
with livestock. If every hill in al
acre planted 80 by Ia inches, pro
duced two four-ounce potatoes INT
Weld would be 115 bushels pei
acre. Or if every hill produced
six four ounce potatoes the yielt
would be 345 bushels per acre.
Ore of the main causes OF low
Yields Of potatoes is poor see'
from low yielding hills. Remem
Der. potato varieties do not "rui
OUT; it is the individual hills tina
run out.
Potato diseases. the most dan
gerous potato diseases, are car
riea with the seed. Some of these
diseases when once introduced
live in the soil for several years
Some diseases live on other plant
and are thus kept in the soil whel
no potatose are grown.
The following diseases are car
ried on the seed: common scab
late blight. Fusocrian wilt, black
leg, Rhizoctonia. powdery scab
silver scurf, wart. curly dwarf
Mosaic. and leaf roll. Some o
these diseases attack only the tn
bers: some attack both tubers an,
vines. and some show only on tn
vines. They can all be controlle
and prevented bv: (D Dlantin
seed free from disease; (2) treat
inc, all seed: (3l spraying thor
ouehly: (4 DIGGING out and DE-
stroying weak and diseased hill