64 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 327 



DEPARTMENT OF OLERICULTURE 

 Grant B. Snyder in Charge 



Packet Seed Studies. (G. B. Snyder and A. P. Tuttle.) A large majority 

 of home gardeners buy their vegetable seeds from the neighborhood store in 

 either packet or bulk lots. It has been found that seeds purchased in this 

 manner frequently have a variable germination and are not true to the name 

 under which they are sold. In order to check these factors, state inspectors 

 purchased some 207 lots from various stores in the State. These included 

 eleven of the more common vegetables. 



Field notes on germination indicated fair vitality of most lots. A few samples 

 of lettuce and beans failed to germinate and others germinated from 30 to 60 

 percent. The various lots were surprisingly true to name. Off types were 

 noted in only a few cases, and even where observed the percentage was very 

 small. 



Systematic Studies of Turnips and Rutabagas. (G.B.Snyder.) De- 

 tailed plant and root records were taken of 26 lots (14 varieties) of rutabagas 

 and 35 lots (16 varieties) of turnips. This is a cooperative project with the 

 Federal Division of Fruit and Vegetable Crops and Diseases, and the data 

 obtained will be used in the compilation of a Federal type book. 



Systematic Studies of Vegetables. (A. P. Tuttle and G. B. Snyder.) 

 During the past few years a large number of improved and new varieties of 

 vegetables have been offered to the vegetable grower. In order to evaluate 

 these newer sorts, they were planted in the trial plots along with the more 

 important standard varieties. Performance, quality, and value for commercial 

 and home-garden purposes were recorded for both groups. The following is a 

 partial list of the varieties and strains of each kind of vegetable studied: Lima 

 beans, 67; New York lettuce, 37; tomatoes, 90; beets, 21- celery, 43; carrots, 

 37; peppers, 36; hybrid sweet corn, 90. 



Many of these newer sorts did not prove as satisfactory as the present stan- 

 dard varieties and are not adapted to Massachusetts conditions. 



Seed Treatment of Lima Beans. (A. P. Tuttle.) Preliminary studies on 

 the influence of red oxide of copper on the germination of lima beans indicated 

 that under normal field conditions this fungicide did not inhibit seed germina- 

 tion. In most cases the treated lots produced a better stand of more vigorous 

 plants than the untreated lots. 



Asparagus Investigations. (Robert E. Young, Waltham.) 

 Fertilizer Experiment. This experiment has been concluded with this year's 

 records due to the labor expense involved and the withdrawal of cooperative 

 funds. It has also been found that the experiment was not producing reliable 

 results which could be used to formulate conclusions of material aid to our 

 asparagus growers. Certain observations and conclusions may be drawn from 

 the three series of plots that were located at Concord, Waltham, and Eastham, 

 Massachusetts. 



1. During the first two years the asparagus located on the coarse sandy 

 gravel soil at North Eastham on Cape Cod gave approximately double the 

 yield obtained at Waltham on a heavier soil. In later years the advantage was 

 slightly less. A comparison of the Concord plots located on a fine sandy soil 

 and the Waltham plots indicates that the Waltham soil produced a slightly 

 better yield all during the experiment. Part of this difference is probably due 

 to factors other than the soil. 



