The Wilmington morning star., 1940-08-05
p0TATO GROWERS
WANT N. {. SEED
n.ofsssor Gardner Says New
sequoia Irish Potato
Is Real Hit

n1fs q hit, says iAo -
head of the State college
'a.;c,,,ture department, in report
the new Seqoia Irish potato
~5ich was introduced last year by
,s.N c. Agricultural Experiment
1..;on Prof. Gardner and Robert
.,aidt of the college research
s+.f developed. the new potato va
ristv. They had the cooperation OF
r.od N Coward. a farmer OF Ashe
county.
About four acres of the Seqoia
..s crown in 1889 in an isolated
Sas n,ot. From this seed stock,
s sa+u,een 50 and 100 seed samples
distributed tocooperators and
@sawprs in the United States, Can
80 Mexico, and Cuba. An effort
ass wade to send seed stock to all
osov,ers who had indicated that
shev we're having difficulty IN grow
ine potatoes due to severe lntes-
tations of insects and disease in
lection.
s,onSe to the new variety has been
Sauarkable, The Hastings Potato
Growers Association OF Florida is
interested in buying a carload OF
coed stock for planting this Win-
Ter" he said, I'VE met with DR.. A.
H Eddins Of the Hastings station
in Western North Carolina last
week and showed him some of our
certified fields in Henderson and
Ashe counties.
Growers Of South Carolina. Vir-
ginia and other states are also in
terested in buying Sequoia seed in
carload lots" he continued. Mr..
Coward of Jefferson, u original
cooperator, has Is acres which will
be certified. There are also several
acres in Henderson county a n d
scattered plots in other counties
which will be a source of seed"
Insect and Disease Resistant
The Sequoia potato was devel-
oped by the horticulturists to meet
the demand for a variety to over
come damage from blight, leaf
hoppers and flea beetles which seri-
ously damage the standard Irish
potato varieties in Western North
Carolina. That they were success
full is evidenced by the results of
their own tests, and the reports
from experiment stations and 9TH
er agencies in this and other coun-
tries.
In h~ve-year tests on the Coward
farm in Ashe county, the Sequoia
averaged Bats bushels per acre,
the highest yield for any one year
being 446 bushels. Over a five
year period in this same test, the
Cobbler variety averaged 224 BUSH
els, the Katahdin 218 bushels, and
the Chippewa 263 bushels per acre.
1t is estimated that leaf hoppers
alone reduced yield in Western
North Carolina each year from a
third to a half. With standard va
rletles, the average yield in the
mountain section on all farms is
from U to 100 bushels per acre.
A report from experimental tests
IN Quebec, Canada. said in part:
In general the plants from the Sc
quola were vigorous with large
ozark green leaves and heavy tops.
Al digging time the tubers were
snooth. clean, uniform, a n d of
sood shape. They we're also free
OF Scab' rhizoctonia, and late blight.
NO diseases were observed and the
average yield per hill was 8 IA
pounds or + 10 pounds per unit
from Oregon, research workers
+sporled; The Sequoia potatoes
na' you furnished for trial were
pldnled on good soil in one of our
coaSlal valleys in Coos county near
voqulle' Oregon. The small plot
Yielded approximately $50 bushes
per acre" wv
iields 626 Bushels Per Acre
,s oailo experiment station workers
poi'ea: This variety (Sequoia)
especially in our muck
! to have possibilities here
l,, ,l,o' especially in u muck
%ha areas, sequoia produced more
stios ts IMAM other standard vari.
bs "s ana the foliage remained in a
tma condition for the longest
t llr: Leaf hopper resistance or
S,a.a alee and late blight resistance
erate exhibited in at least a mod
yia1s uesree. The small test plot
ser .ueo at the rate of 626 bushels
othos acre. In comparison with five
shou,oa varieties tested. Sequoia
INV inc least hopper burn"
tion Maryland experiment sta
How, winch has been testing the
wbsn variety for several years,
aN IT was only a number q3O.5.
for y recommending the sequoia
late osIrett county, Md, where a
Leaf Sielo1ng, blight, mild mosaic,
ant hopper and flea beetle resist.
recor ,arlety is desired. It is also
comnan endeo for late planting in
v arist,, with the Dakota Red
STATE 'y IN all other parts of the
cban pe Eastern State Farmers Ex-
sultss e also obtained favorable re.
1onis;alom tests in Maine, and
ports sia ana experiment station re-
ape No insect or disease dam
uefara and with growing conditions
I, s'oraole, the yield per acre of
els NO l potatoes was 21O BUSH