236 Refoet of Farmers' Institutes 



THE STANDARDIZATION OF SEED POTATOES 

 F. C. Stewart 



The necessity of fixing some standards for seed potatoes is 

 becoming very evident. Buyers of seed potatoes all over the 

 country are complaining bitterly of the difficulty of obtaining 

 good seed potatoes. The majority of the growers of seed potatoes 

 appear to be utterly ignorant of what constitutes good seed, or 

 else they are without conscientious scruples in the matter. In 

 many cases the only difference between seed potatoes and table 

 stock seems to be in the name and the price asked. 



This condition of affairs must be remedied somehow. The 

 present haphazard methods in the seed potato trade work to the 

 disadvantage of nearly all parties concerned excepting, perhaps, 

 a few unscrupulous dealers. Mr. W. A. Orton of the Bureau of 

 Plant Industry has advocated, as a remedy, the organization of 

 a system of inspection and certification of seed potatoes. lu 

 Wisconsin, Michigan, A'^ermont and Maine steps have already 

 been taken in this direction. During the past two years there 

 has been much discussion of the subject in this state. It is to 

 be hoped that some definite action may be taken soon. 



In the standardization of seed potatoes three chief things to 

 be considered are: (1) The degree of varietal purity to be 

 required; (2) the amount of the various diseases permissible and, 

 (3) the methods of inspection and certification necessary to in- 

 sure conformity to the standards adopted. We will briefly con- 

 sider these in turn. 



VARIETAL PURITY 



Concerning the standard of varietal purity I will say that it 

 seems to me it should vary somewhat according to circum- 

 stances. For example: A mixture of Rural Isew Yorker No, 2 

 and Sir Walter Raleigh is difficult to detect ; moreover, these two 

 varieties are so similar that it does not matter greatly if they 

 are mixed. On the other hand, there is no excuse for the mixture 

 of a late with an early variety, as, for example, Sir Walter 

 Raleigh or Carman No. 3, with Irish Cobbler — a very frequent 

 combination which is disastrous to the grower of early potatoes. 



