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THE IRKIGATION AGE. 



ARID AGRICULTURE 



BY 

 B. C. BUFFUM, M. S. 



Manager of the Wyoming Plant and Seed Breeding Company, 

 Worland. Former Professor ot Agriculture in the uni- 

 versity of Wyoming and the Colorado Agricultural 

 College, and Director of the Wyoming 

 Agricultural Experiment 

 Station. 



Prof. B. C. nufTum. 



POTATO CULTURE. 



Potatoes can be produced with 

 as little moisture as any of the 

 general farm crops. Their re- 

 quirements are such that a little 

 water stored in the soil will mate 

 sufficient growth of vine, and with 

 proper cultivation its feeder roots 

 will gather practically all the 

 moisture in the cultivated area. 

 The potato is one of the most im- 

 portant and profitable arid region 

 productions. So important has it 

 become under irrigation in certain 

 sections that its culture is being 

 rapidly extended. When grown 

 under irrigation the potato is 

 John Gorden and His Dry Farm Potatoes, 

 forced and rapidly deteriorates as seed. On this account there 

 is large demand for potato seed raised by dry farm methods. 

 Seed raised by dry farming, and used under irrigation, seems 

 to do well the first and second years, but old potato growers 

 seldom use the same seed the third year. This is an important 

 item to the dry farmer who has soil and conditions suitable 

 for potato culture. 



Good crops of potatoes are raised on a variety of soils. 

 We believe a light sandy loam is preferable, but where late 

 water can be supplied, good crops are produced on heavier 

 soils. With proper cultivation the yields average from 100 

 to 250 sacks of two bushels each per acre. The cost of pro- 

 ducing the crop averages about thirty dollars per acre. 



The main croppers in the mountain region are the "Ohio" 

 for early crops, the "Mammoth Pearl," and "Rural New York- 

 ers" for late crops. In some sections the "Burbank" does very 

 well. Early varieties are more used for dry farming, but very 

 few early potatoes are grown as main crops by irrigation. 

 The white varieties (Pearl and Rural) take the lead. It is 

 important that a community .of farmers who are just becom- 

 ing established, at least, plant only one or two varieties in 

 order that they may supply a uniform product to the market 

 in sufficient quantities. 



Potatoes on the YU. Ranch, Big Horn County, Wyo. 



The root rot (See future articles on Plant Diseases) and 

 blight are very common potato diseases and the first of these, 

 at least can be measurably controlled by properly handling 

 and treating the seed before planting, by change of seed and 

 by rotation of crops. Seed potatoes may be kept from 

 sprouting in the spring by frequently changing their position 

 in the root cellar. Perhaps one of the best treatments that 

 can be recommended is to let them become well sunburned. 

 The light seems to destroy the winter stage of the root rot 

 disease. The farmer can tell whether this disease is present 

 in abundance on his potatoes by the presence of black spots, 

 which look like particles of soil that stick very tightly to the 

 skin of the potato. "Greening" the potato seed also causes 

 short, strong sprouts which do not break off in handling and 

 are ready for business as soon as planted in moist soil. 



Treatment with corrosive sublimate or formalin will also 

 help destroy this disease, and it is a cure for true potato scab 

 where the crop is raised on clean land. Use two ounces of 

 corrosive sublimate to fifteen gallons of water. Dissolve the 

 corrosive sublimate in one gallon of boiling water, using an 

 earthen or glass jar. Mix with water in a barrel and dip the 

 potatoes, leaving them in the solution one to one and one-half 

 hours. Spread out to dry before cutting. Corrosive sublimate 

 is a deadly poison and must be handled with great care. Never 

 use the same vessel for any other purpose. 



Small potatoes may be used for seed if they are pure and 

 true to type, and will give as good results as will planting 



larger tubers. They may be either planted whole or cut, one 

 or two eyes to the piece. The best results in cutting have 

 been obtained by quartering the potato lengthwise, and if a 

 cutting block is used, the larger ones may be quartered by 

 splitting both ways. Where potatoes are planted on a large 

 scale a machine cutter may be used. 



Seed potatoes should be pure varieties, true to type, and 

 not forced by irrigation. 'It is more important that the seed 

 potato be one from a thrifty hill which contains a good num- 

 ber of potatoes true to type than that it be large size. The 

 best seed for irrigation is raised by dry farming or at high 

 altitudes in the mountains. The seed should be as free as 

 possible from scab and the root rot disease, must not get 

 chilled or frosted, and should be changed often where there 

 is tendency to run out. A farmer who would raise potatoes 

 successfully must not hesitate to pay the price for the best 

 potatoes to renew his seed. 



Potato ground must be plowed deep. Usually four horses 

 are put on to a fourteen-inch plow and the furrow turned 

 eight or ten inches deep. If on sod ground, five or six inches 

 will do the first year. The ground should be harrowed the 

 same day it is plowed and the plowing should Jiot be done 

 long before planting time. Sod ground should be disced 

 before plowing is commenced in order to make as fine a seed 

 bed as possible after it is turned under. Alfalfa ground to be 

 used for potatoes must be plowed deep and a wide, sharp 

 share used to cut off the roots. 



The best results are obtained by the use of a good potato 

 planter, and such machinery is necessary, if potatoes are to 



Potatoes on the Y U Ranch, Big Horn County, Wyoming. 



be raised on a large scale. The seed should be put in an 

 average depth of four inches when on dry, sandy soil, though 

 they may be planted six or seven inches deep and still give 

 good results. They are not planted deep enough as a rule. 

 Immediately after planting, a good four-horse cultivator 

 should be run through between the rows, loosening the ground 

 to the depth of the plowing, or, if possible, an inch or two 

 deeper than it was plowed. Use a four-horse cultivator and 

 run the shovels close to the rows. Follow the cultivator with 

 the harrow to level the soil and establish the mulch. Just 

 before the potatoes come through the ground, give a second 

 harrowing with a toothed harrow, slanting the teeth a little 

 back. The seed may be dropped distances of from twelve 

 to eighteen inches apart in the row and the rows should be 

 from three to three and one-half feet apart. From five hun- 

 dred to seven hundred pounds of seed per acre is sufficient. 

 At higher altitudes, where the season is short and potato 

 vines make comparatively small growth, they may be planted 

 correspondingly closer together with the required increase in 

 the amount of seed. The largest yield of which there is any 

 authentic record in the West was obtained from potatoes 

 planted a distance of eight inches apart in rows two and one- 

 half feet apart, on highly fertilized and cultivated ground. 



Potatoes should receive deep and thorough cultivation. 

 When the plants are four or five inches high, cultivate deep 

 and near the rows. This should be done each week or ten 

 days, running the cultivator shovels farther from the plants 

 as they grow larger, and throwing the soil toward the rows. 

 The ground should be kept well stirred to the depth of the 

 plowing between the rows until time for irrigation. Each irri- 



