REPORT OF THE HORTICULTURIST 



121 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



POTATOES CHANGE OF SEED. 



The seasons of 1906, 1907 and 190S were three of the most unfavourable for pota- 

 toes that have been experienced in twenty-one years at the Central Experimental 

 Farm. Varieties which had been grown from the same stock year after year for 

 seventeen years showed no signs of deteriorating in vigour before 1906. The best 

 potatoes had been used each year for seed, and the continued selection had evidently 

 pi-evented deterioration. The season of 1906 was, however, very dry, and varieties 

 which had been yielding at the rate of over three hundred bushels per acre in some 

 cases gave scarcely half as much. The growth of the tubers had been stopped prema- 

 turely by the dry weather. These tubers were used for seed in 1907, and another 

 unfavourable season, combined with the poor seed, resulted in another poor crop. The 

 crop of potatoes was again small in 1908, but the tubers which formed were most of 

 them well developed when dug. 



The crop of potatoes had been so poor in 1906, and the prospects for a good crop 

 in 1907 from the tubers not being thought favourable, it wa?^ considered desirable to 

 compare the results with imported seed. Accordingly, small quantities of tubers of 

 six well known varieties of potatoes were procured from the Experimental Farm, 

 Nappan, IST.S. As the best of the home-grown seed had been used in other experi- 

 ments before this imported seed was planted the results obtained that year are not 

 considered reliable, but it may be said that the average yield from the imported varie- 

 ties was almost twice as great as from the home-grown seed of the same sorts. In 

 1908 it was possible to make a fairer comparison, and the best seed from the im- 

 ported stock of the year before was compared with the best seed of the home-grown 

 stock. The results given in the following table show that the extra vigour and produc- 

 tiveness of the imported stock were still maintained to a marked degree. 



Name of Variety. 



Late Puritan 



Rochester Rose 



Early White Prize 



Vick's Extra Early 



Money Maker 



Carman No. \ 



Average 



Average difference in fav- 

 our of Napxjan seed . . 



Seed from Nappan, N.S., 1907. 



Total 



Yield per 



Acre, 



C.E.r.,1908. 



Bush. Lbs . 



343 



281 

 272 

 213 

 213 

 193 



12 



36 

 48 

 24 

 24 

 36 



Yield 



per Acre, 



Marketable, 



C.E.F.,1908. 



C.E*F.!i908. C.E.F.,1908 



Bush. Lbs. 



332 

 242 

 201 

 195 

 191 

 182 



12 



48 

 48 

 24 

 36 



253 .. 

 133 28 



234 18 

 128 20 



Yield 

 per Acre, 

 Unmarket- 

 able, 



C. E. F. Seed, 1907. 



Total 



Yield per 



Acre, 



Bush. Lbs. 



11 

 39 

 11 

 17 

 22 

 11 



36 

 .36 



18 42 

 5 8 



Bush. Lbs. 



118 

 90 

 123 

 150 

 118 

 103 



48 

 48 

 12 

 12 

 48 

 24 



119 32 



Yi^ld 



per Acre, 



Marketable, 



C.E.F.,1908. 



Rush. Lbs . 



110 



88 



96 



127 



114 



99 



48 

 36 

 24 



105 58 



Yield 

 per Acre, 



Unmarket- 

 able, 



C.E.F.,1908. 



Bush. Lbs . 



8 

 8 

 26 

 28 

 4 

 4 



48 

 48 

 24 

 36 

 24 

 24 



13 34 



It has been found in Great Britain and Ireland that seed potatoes from the south 

 of England, where the season is comparatively hot and dry, do not produce nearly as 

 good crops as the Irish and Scotch seed grown in cooler and moister climates, and it 

 is becoming a common practice for English growers to use either Scotch or Irish seed. 

 While it is evident from the results at the Central Experimental Farm that potatoes 

 do not soon run out if the seed is carefully selected each year, and that providing 

 there is no great reduction in vigour, as has been the case during the past three 

 seasons here, large yields may be obtained from Ontario grown seed. The results 

 obtained in Great Britain and the results obtained from Nappan seed would indicate 

 that at least every few years it would be profitable for Ontario growers to import seed 

 from the Maritime Provinces or from the cooler and moister parts of Ontario and 

 Quebec, providing known productive varieties could be obtained. 



