Wm. H. Martin

Depth of planting and spacing the seed pieces

The common pract ice among New Je r sey po ta to growers is to p lan t r a the r shallow. The seed piece is covered with app rox imate ly an inch and a ha l f of soil with a 4-inch r idge over the row. This is in marked cont ras t to the pract ice in nearby states, where it is recommended tha t the seed pieces be p lan ted three to fou r inches deep. I t should be s ta ted tha t the New Je r sey crop, fo r m o s t par t , is p lan ted dur ing the la t t e r pa r t of March and ear ly Apri l and very f r equen t ly the surface soil is f rozen a f t e r the crop is planted.

Report of the Twenty-Second Annual Meeting of the Potato Association of America

The twenty-second annual meeting was held from December 31 to January 2, inclusive. The attendance was excellent and 54 papers were presented during the six sessions. There were joint sessions with the American Society for Horticultural Science and the American Phytopathological Society. One of the interesting events of the meeting was the election of Dr. William Stuart as a honorary life member of the Association in recognition of his long and valued service to the potato industry. The session devoted to potato breeding proved to be of unusual interest. It was apparent that considerable progress is being made in the search for disease resistant varieties. It was pointed out, however, that much more progress could be made if the pathologists, horticulturists and others in the different states would cooperate in testing the new varieties developed by the plant breeders. A committee was appointed to work with the committee from the American Phytopathological Society to assist in bringing about a more extensive testing of these new varieties.

What pressure is necessary for potato spraying

SummaryPotato spraying experiments in New Jersey, conducted for 17 years, have demonstrated that this practice pays.Bordeaux mixtures made from a high grade chemical hydrated lime will give as good results as a Bordeaux mixture made from stone lime.Calcium arsenate will not control the flea beetle or the leaf-hopper. On the other hand, the injury from both of these insects and particularly the latter, will be greatly reduced by spraying with Bordeaux mixture.Increased yields followed applications of Bordeaux mixture applied at 150, 250, and 350 pounds pressure. While the yields increased with the pressure the difference between, 250 and 350 pounds was slight and it is believed that a pressure in excess of 250 pounds is unnecessary. With 200-250 pounds pressure and proper adjustment of the boom and nozzles, satisfactory results will follow.

Annual meeting of the New Jersey State potato association

of agricultural products and that the marketing of the enormous potato crop produced yearly is a big factor, that we petition Congress to appoint a member of the Potato Association of America on this commission. Resolved: That we endorse the continuation of the embargo against foreign potatoes, designed to prevent the further entrance of stock that may be infected with Black Wart, as well as the further maintenance of the zone about those areas of the United States where the disease is now found. Resolved: That we cautio~ seed growers and potato men generally against being stampeded, in view of present high prices and low stocks of good seed, into planting unduly large acreages with indifferent seed, but that they plant only normal acreages, using only the best of seed. Be it further resolved, that The Potato Association of America wishes to express its appreciation of the faithful and consistent services of Walter M. Peacock in the performance of the duties as Editor-in-Chief of The Potato News Bulletin. And be it further resolved, that the Potato Association of America desires to express its sincere appreciation of the many courtesies extended the Association by both the general and local committees of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and also to the Kansas City Athletic Club for the privilege of the use of their commodious anti comfortable rooms during the convention, thereby materially assisting in making this annual meeting of the Associaton a most interesting and profitable one to the members and visitors in attendance. M. B. McKay. P. N. Davis. I Resolutions John S. Gardner. Committee

Potato meeting: Seed potato certification conference

ada wilt be held at Freehold, New Jersey, under the auspices of the Po ta to Associa t ion of America . A similar conference held at Freehold last )Tear proved to be very much wor th while in that it cleared up some points concerning the var ious degenera t ion diseases as well as other mat te r s pe r ta in ing to the inspect ion service. This year it is expected that a n u m b e r of the inspectors will at tend. I t is i m p o r t a n t tha t as many men in actual charge of the field inspections be presen t as possible since it is on them tha t the responsibi l i ty falls of accept ing or re jec t ing a field.

The potato situation

Many pota to g rowers are painful ly aware of the unsa t i s fac tory m a r k e t experiences for the 1924 crop. The unusual s i tuat ion of three successive years of abundan t product ion and low prices have b r o u g h t grea t d i scouragement , especial ly in those sections where po ta toes are a main crop. T h e Uni ted Sta tes D e p a r t m e n t of Agriculture caut ions tha t the present price m a y resul t in too small an acreage of po ta toes this year. Lead ing growers , on the other hand, would like to see a reduct ion in acreage, or at least, not an increase. The effect on the 1925 acreage remains to be seen. Will a reduct ion in acreage, if it occurs, be a factor in improv ing the pota to si tuation, and if not, wha t is the way ou t? I shall discuss this question, and some of the other fac tors in pota to production in m y brief r emarks this evening.