DepartmeiSttal Activities. 311 



THE SCHOOLS OF AGRICULTURE AND EXPERIMENT 



STATIONS. 



GROOTFONTEIN, MIDDELBURG (CAPE). 



Storage and Sprouting of Potatoes for an EarJy Crop. — To those 

 in the Karroo interested in the g'rowing of early potatoes, the follow- 

 ing observations made at Grootfontein during- the past season will 

 be of value. 



1. Digging Early (before Vines Mature). -—By selecting special 

 " hills " from the main crop before it is mature, suitable " seed 

 for early potatoes can be obtained. This seed is usually much more 

 free from the larvae of tuber moth than the potatoes harvested after 

 the vines have withered. These selected potatoes must then be placed 

 in a cool, well-lighted and ventilated room, in boxes similar to that 

 illustrated in Fig. 1. Potatoes dug on the 10th February and kept 

 in this manner until 21 st August are shown in Figs. 1 and 2. A 

 similar lot stored under the same conditions, but in the dark, may be 

 seen in Figs. 3 and 4, where it will be noted how weak and 

 spindly are the sprouts, and how^ shrunken the tubers themselves as 

 contrasted with the beautifully sturdy, thick sprouts and solid tubers 

 in the case of those kept in the light. 



Potatoes such as those shown in the first two illustrations, if 

 planted at the end of August, will in all probability produce a crop 

 suitable for the table two to three weeks earlier than those illustrated 

 in Figs. 3 and 4, where much of the energy of the tuber has 

 been wasted in forming long, weak sprouts that will break off in 

 planting when new sprouts will have to be formed. 



2. Planting Late. — The second method consists in planting late, 

 say, the end of January or beginning of Fe])ruary, then harvesting 

 in the winter or later, depending on Avhether the potatoes are wanted 

 for an early or main crop. Such potatoes are sliown in Fig. 5. 

 These tubers are firm, and the sprouts barely started. They were 

 harvested on the 13tli July from a crop planted on the ITtli January. 

 A sample of the same variety harvested in Febuary, and kept in a 

 sack is shown in Fig. G, where the very shrivelled condition of the 

 tubers, and the long worthless sprouts are veiy noticeable. The 

 potatoes illustrated in Fig. 5 will, without doubt, produce much more 

 vigorous plants than those shown in Fig. 6. 



In order to prepare these winter-harvested potatoes f(n' an early 

 planting, say September, quick sprouting can be induced by placing 

 the tubers in boxes, as in Fig. 1 in a dark warm room for about two 

 to three weeks, and then the sprouts may be toughened by exposing 

 the boxes to bright light for a few weeks, about two to three, before 

 planting. 



Sprouting potatoes is of first importance in getting an early crop, 

 but care must be taken not to break off the healthy sprouts. This is 

 why the sprouting boxes are so useful, for the potatoes may be carted 

 to the field in the boxes, which can easily l)e made from petrol cases. 



Observations made here recently show thai l)y treating sprouted 

 potatoes with formalin, 1 in 300, no injury to the sprouts results. 



