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MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 449 



siderably fewer B grade and cull potatoes were obtained from the plots on which 

 the fertilizer was applied all banded than from the other plots. 



Potato Vine Lifters. (Karol J. Kucinski.) When potato vines become large 

 enough to cover the space between the rows, the moving of spraying equipment 

 through the field crushes the vines, thus causing a decrease in yield. An im- 

 proved vine lifter has been developed which will pick up the vines from the space 

 between the rows and push them back into the rows. This allows the passage 

 of the wheels of both the tractor and the sprayer without injury to the plants. 



The lifters were patterned after those developed by John W. Slosser, Engineer, 

 Research Division ot the Soil Conservation Service, in cooperation with the Maine 

 Agricultural Experiment Station. Certain modifications of the basic design were 

 made to improve the operation and utility of the lifters. 



Each lifter is attached to its control by means of a clevis and pin coupler to 

 make its removal from the tractor easy. The vine lifters for the tractor rear 

 wheels are suspended from the arms which usually carry the cultivators and can 

 be operated hydraulically. The vine lifter for the front tricycle wheel is suspended 

 by a small rope atiached to the hanger rod of the lifter and through a pulley to 

 the hand-lever used in connection with the cultivator. The two lifters for the 

 wheels of the sprayer are suspended from an arm attached to the sprayer frame 

 and the hand-lever is used to adjust the lifters and can be operated from the 

 driver's seat. The lifters are made of %" steel rod and the hanger arms from 

 5/8" steel rod. The lifters for the tractor would be designed as required for each 

 make and model. The accompanying illustration shows the vine lifters attached 

 to the sprayer and the tractor. 



SimpIe-to-Make Potato Vine Lifter Attached to Tractor and Spray Rig. 



