THE MODERN POTATO PROBLEM 

 BY CHARLES O. APPLEMAN, PH. D. 



Dean of the Graduate School and Professor of Plant Physiology. 

 University of Maryland 



THE potato crop ranks next to the cereals as a 

 food crop in the United States. It ranks third 

 in the number of calories that can be grown on 

 an acre of land, corn ranking first and sweet potatoes 

 second. The average per capita annual consumption 

 of potatoes for the past several years is 3.5 to 4 bushels. 

 The 1922 acreage was more than 4,000,000 and the 

 production nearly 400,000,000 bushels, or an average of 

 about loo bushels per acre. These are still far below 

 the possibilities and are greatly exceeded in some other 

 countries. Much scientific effort and education have 

 been necessary to maintain even our present production 

 and quality. The purpose of modern study of the 

 potato is not only a greater average production per 

 acre, but also a product of higher grade and quality 

 that can be kept in good condition for consumption 

 through the greater part of the year. Many years of 

 investigation on some of the older and simpler problems 

 have yielded such conclusive results that they are now 

 simply awaiting more general application in practice. 

 New potato problems are constantly arising. They 

 are vry diverse in character and their study is demand- 



