4 SUGGESTIONS TO POTATO GROWERS ON IRRIGATED LANDS. 



METHOD OF IRRIGATION. 



The Avater for iiTigiitino- potattes is best appjied in every other 

 furrow, the furrows bein*;; narrow and deep and the water so applied 

 that the ground will not be saturated above the point wJiere the 

 tubers are formed. This will induce the formation of a deep instead 

 of a superficial root system. In order to accomplish this the rows 

 must be sufficiently wide apart to admit of throwing up broad high 

 ridges, with narrow deep furrows between, in which the water can be 

 led in a small stream for a Icng period rather than by means of a 

 large stream flowing only for a short time. The successive irriga- 

 tions should be carried on in alternate rows; the second irrigation 

 should be in the rows not used by the first, and the third in the rows 

 used during the first. Cultivation should follow irrigation as quickly 

 as the condition of the soil will permit, but as soon as the tubers have 

 made their growth, usually about September 1, water should be 

 Avithheld so that the soil will dry and the crop ripen in proper condi- 

 tion for harvesting. 



After the croj^ has been harvested it is wise to rake and burn all 

 refuse matter. Vines allowed to decay u.pon the land tend to i)er- 

 petuate any disease that may have been present upon the crop during 

 the PTOwinff season. Tliere is little fertilitv in the vines, and the 

 danger of contaminating the following season's crop by harboring- 

 disease is greater than the value of the vines for manurial purposes. 



A good winter treatment would be to plow the land deeply and 

 allow it to remain in a rough condition during the winter in order 

 that it may hold all the snow which may fall and rapidly absorb the 

 rains. Rough earth will not blow as badly as that which is smooth. 



SEED. 



As a rule, seed from a distance does not do so well the first year 

 in any given locality as home-grown seed. For this reason it is advis- 

 able each year to bring in sufficient seed to grow a seed patch large 

 enough to supply all of the tubers necessary for planting the next 

 year's crop. By this method new seed will be available, and it will 

 have had the advantage of one year's growth in the home locality and 

 will not have the disadvantages that arise from repeated reproduction 

 on lands frequently used for potato culture. 



KOTATION" OE CROPS FOR POTATO CULTURE. 



Throughout the eastern United States and upon the irrigated lands 

 of the AVest it has been the prevailing practice to grow potatoes upon 

 lands which have previously grown a leguminous crop, such as clover 

 or alfalfa. These crops supply organic matter in abundance and at 

 the same time provide the necessary amount of nitrogen for the potato 

 crop. 



[Cir. 90] 



