Arizona AgricuIvTuraIv Experiment Station 441 



Plots 5 to 8 were divided into thirds so that three strips 23.9 

 feet by 192 feet were planted in three different ways. The first 

 strip was planted two rows on the ridge. The second strip was 

 planted with one row on a ridge, and the third was planted level 

 and flooded. These three ways of planting have all been used to 

 some extent in Arizona. Of the three methods only the first two 

 are at all satisfactory. The flooded seed had dif^culty in germinat- 

 ing unless the ground was moist on the surface, and the plants did 

 not make as good a growth after they got started. Planting two 

 rows on a ridge was satisfactory, but involved more hand work in 

 cultivation. The single-row system seems to be best adapted to 

 growing lettuce under field conditions where the price of land does 

 not warrant the added expense of hand cultivation. 



SWEET POTATO STORAGE 



The results of the preliminary tests in the storage of sweet . 

 potatoes at the Yuma Date Orchard are interesting. The potatoes 

 were stored between layers of straw and covered with a thick layer 

 of the same material. One pile was handled in the usual rough 

 way and carried from the field in sacks. The other pile was care- 

 fully placed in crates; cured in a room kept at a temperature be- 

 tween 85° to 90° for one week, and then piled. The potatoes were 

 taken out of storage April 18th with the following results : Pile 

 No. 1 had in it 106 pounds of potatoes, of which about one-half was 

 marketable. This was 38% of the 278 pounds put in the pile. The 

 second pile contained 74 pounds of potatoes^ of which 757© were 

 marketable. This was 48% of the original 154 pounds put in the 

 pile. Mr. Aepli in reporting on the potatoes when they came out 

 of storage says, "It seems that every potato under two inches '-i 

 diameter shriveled and every one over that size except the bruised 

 ones kept very well." From this it can be seen that in putting 

 sweet potatoes out of doors the dry air is suf^cient to cure them 

 and that to prevent excessive drying a layer of dry soil should be 

 thrown over the pile after the curing had taken place. This work 

 is to be continued during the year 1918. 



S. B. Johnson, 

 Assistant Horticulturist. 



