lo Oct.. 191 .^-l The I'sc of L:»n ni Potato Culture. 



639 



[X. 



THI-. LSK OF LIMK I\ POTATO ( LLTLRK. 



A'r Geo. Seymour, Potato Expert. 



The use of lime in potato culture has not hitherto received much atten- 

 tion from the growers of this State. The reason generally assigned for this- 

 is that the cost of freight, a(Jded to that of the lime, makes it \erv 

 expensive. 



Though the potato crnii remoxes a comparatiwly .<mall quantity of 

 lime from the soil, the haulm, like other plants, requires a considerable 

 quantity. It is generally recognised that to haye a satisfactory crop of 

 tubers, we must have a vigorous and well developed plant, and there can 

 be little doubt that the use of lime, in some .soils, would contribute largely 

 to that vigorous growth of the plant which results in an increa.sed yield. 



The following figures will show the difference in the quantities of lime 

 per acre removed l>y a six-toii crop of i)Otatoes and the haulm of the 

 crop — 



<( tons ])er acre 



Lime Rpiuovpd por Aoro. 



Tubers. 



■1\) 1I)S 



•1-1 -, II) 



Total. 



1>.}() 1I)S 



Taking the average of the Victorian crop of potatoes at 3 tons per acre 

 the total loss would be nearly 13 lbs. per acre. This, it must be re- 

 membered, is often from a soil already deficient in lime, so that growers 

 would do well to test the value of the use of lime on their potato fields. 



The benefits of lime mav be stated as follows: — • 



1. It acts as plant food. 



2. It corrects the acidity of the soil, causing coarse vegetation to- 



give place to more nutritious plants and discourages the 

 growth of sorrel. 



3. It acts ra|)idly on the organic matter in the soil, and prepares it 



for plant food by liberating the nitrogen which it contains. 



4. It decomposes the dormant mineral matter of the .soil. esi)ecially 



clay .soil. 



5. It improves the physical condition of heavy clav lands. 



This Dei)artment carried out .some experiments on the 5-acre fora^-e 

 fields in the seasons 1905/6 and 1906/7, the results of which are given 

 ui the table below. The soils embraced the following — Heavy clay .soil, at 

 < 'arrum : clay loam, of a gravelly nature, at Digger's Rest ; peat.' drained 

 swamp, at South Bunyip ; heavy clay soil, at Turkeith (Colac). 



The above soils were all, more or le.ss, benefited by a dressing of ^ cwt. 

 per acre, whilst tlie rich volcanic soil, at Illowa. and the light volcanic 

 soil, at Kilmore. showed a decreased return, but looking at the returns 



