OTHER ACTIVE PROJECTS 

 Factors Influencing Sales of New Hampshire Melons 



L. A. Dougherty 



Agronomy 



"Merrimac", a New Potato Variety 



For several years the Department of Agronomy has tested in New 

 Hampshire potato seedling progenies developed by the United States De- 

 partment of Agriculture, at Beltsville, Maryland, and Presque Isle, Maine. 

 One of the varieties thus far developed has proved to be of commercial value 

 and has been named Merrimac. 



Merrimac is a high yielding variety of excellent quality which is very 

 well adapted to this state. It is excellent for the manufacture of potato chips, 

 has good keeping quality, and is resistant to late blight and ring rot. 



More potato varieties are being tested and propagated, several show 

 promise, and may eventually replace some of the varieties now grown in 

 the state. 



P. T. Blood 



Search Continued for a Perennial Red Clover 



New Hampshire perennial red clover was hand planted for comparison 

 with Dollard, Kenland, New Brunswick, and Pennscott red clovers in July, 

 1953. Each strain was replicated four times. Yield harvests were made in 

 mid-June and early August with considerable variation in yields due to the 

 slope of the land and position of the individual plots. 



In July, 1954, the above tests were duplicated on more level land and 

 more uniform soil conditions. For comparison, three replications of each 

 strain were seeded with the new belt seeder and one replication was hand 

 seeded. 



Some of the New Hampshire perennial red clover plants in the green- 

 house are now over three years old. These plants are the source of the new 

 breeder's seed. In recent years, seed has been taken from plants in the field 

 which had persisted for five years. 



L. J. HiGGINS 



Better Adapted and Higher Yielding Corn and Grain Varieties 



Cornell 29-3 has been an important corn hybrid for both silage and 

 grain for several years. Unfortunately, it has suffered considerable stalk 

 breakage and is not as uniform as some of the more recently developed 

 hybrids. 



In order to find which hybrids will best replace Cornell 29-3 and vmder 

 what conditions these varieties will give the best silage returns, the usual 

 corn variety trials were modified in 1953. Eight open pedigree hybrids in 

 the same maturity range as Cornell 29-3 were chosen for the tests. 



The nine hybrids were each replicated four times for each of four 

 treatments. Two population levels of over 14,000 and over 19,000 plants 

 per acre were established by proper thinning. Two fertilizer variations were 

 set up by using 1-1-1 and 1-2-2 fertilizer ratios at planting and by varying 

 the amount of nitrogen added as a side-dressing when the plants were knee- 

 high. 



The 1953 yields appeared to be somewhat masked by the extended 



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