46 MASS. EXPP:RIMENT station bulletin 305 



applying the fertilizer May 1 instead of June 20, the usual time. The plots 

 receiving just the nitrogen in May did not give this increase. Nitrate of potash 

 and sulfate of potash did not produce as large yields as did muriate of potash. 

 The kind and amount of nitrogen applied seem to have had very little effect 

 upon the yield, except that cottonseed meal gave a considerable increase in yield 

 both this year and last. The increase in yield due to increasing the amount of 

 potash has been in direct ratio to the amount of potash applied. The application 

 of a fertilizer mixture containing 18 per cent potash increased the yield, as com- 

 pared with the crop produced with a fertilizer containing no potash, sufficiently 

 to pay for the potash and allow a profit of approximately $30 per acre. The 

 addition of extra phosphorus also gave a significant increase in yield. 



The results at Concord were about the same as at Waltham, except that sulfate 

 of ammonia caused a marked reduction in yield at Concord, while both cotton- 

 seed meal and a combination of guano and goat manure gave a great increase 

 in yield. 



The plots at Eastham still show the effect of organic matter, in the form of a 

 crop of carrots turned under on half the field before the asparagus was planted. 

 As a result, there is quite a variation between duplicate plots with the same 

 treatment. The plots that have received no lime have been very materially 

 reduced in yield. The plot receiving seaweed and superphosphate remains one 



f the high producing plots. 



Varietal Improvement. Individual yield records were taken on 290 asparagus 

 plant selections made by my predecessor. The number of stalks varied from 



1 to 27 per plant, with a mean yield of 7.5 stalks. These records will be con- 

 tinued to determine the high yielding plants, which will then be removed to a 

 seed production bed. 



Effect of Fertilizers on Asparagus Plants Grown from Seed. The application 

 of fertilizers to the seedbed in which asparagus seed was planted did not seem to 

 have a harmful effect upon the asparagus plants. It was observed that there 

 was a slight depressing effect when one of the fertilizer elements was either left 

 out entirely or was present in extremely high amounts. This is the result for 

 one year, and the experiment is being repeated. 



Depth of Planting and Height of Cutting. A study of the yield records of this 

 experiment shows that the plants have not yet reached their maximum produc- 

 tion. The increase in productivity over 1931 was as follows: 



Per cent 



Cut with only 4 inches green 44 



Cut with 8 inches green 27.8 



Cut with 12 inches green 29 



The effect of the depth of planting remains about the same as last year. The 

 deeper the roots are planted, the greater the mortality, which ranged from 11 per 

 cent loss for the roots 2 inches deep to 31 per cent loss for the roots planted 8 

 inches deep. 



Seed Improvement. (Robert E. Young, Waltham.) Samples of seed of the 

 best strains of Horticultural bean grown in 1932 were distributed to a few se- 

 lected growers this past season in order to determine the behavior of the beans 

 when grown on different types of soil. The reports from these growers are very 

 encouraging. Although selection will be continued, the seed stock now on hand 



