14 



BULLETIN 1063, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



tity ; but in bins the decay is likely to spread throughout the large 

 bulk of the potatoes. It is asserted also that less injury occurs in 

 handling where small containers are used, because the potatoes are 

 placed in the receptacles in the field and are not disturbed until pre- 

 pared for market ; but when stored in bins the potatoes are gathered 

 in baskets and dumped into bins, and some bruising will occur even 

 with the most careful workers. In ordinaiy commercial handling 

 there is considerable bruising. 



Experiments were begun in 1917 to study the shrinkage and decay 

 in three standard varieties of sweet potatoes stored in 1-bushel crates 

 and in bins. The bins used were about 4 feet wide, 8 feet long, and 7 

 feet high, although the potatoes were seldom more than 5 feet deep 

 in the bins. After the potatoes were plowed out they were placed in 

 1-bushel crates and hauled directly to the storage house. Those put 

 in bins were first cleaned and weighed. The potatoes intended for 

 the crate experiments were cleaned and placed in weighed crates, and 

 the total weight was then recorded. The crates were not disturbed 

 until the end of the storage season. In the room where these experi- 

 ments were conducted the temperature was maintained between 55° 

 and 60° F. The average temperature in this room is shown in fig- 

 ure 1. 



Table 7 presents the results of these experiments for 1917-18 and 

 for 1918-19. 



Table 7. — Relation of the storage receptacle to the keeping quality of sweet 



potatoes. 



[Shrinkage and decay averages of three standard varieties stored in bins and in crates during two seasons.] 





Storage 

 recep- 

 tacle. 



Time 



in 

 stor- 

 age. 



Average weight at— 











Variety. 



Harvest 

 time. 



End of 



storage 

 period. 



Loss in weight due 

 to shrinkage. 



Loss in weight due 

 to decay. 





/Bin 

 \Crate 



/Bin 



\Crate.... 



/Bin 



\Crate.... 



/Bin 



\Crate.... 



Days. 

 171J 

 154 



172 

 162 



171J 

 154 



171J 

 156* 



Pounds. 



3,000.90 



144.16 



3,970.56 

 131. 94 



2,930.75 

 151. 72 



9, 902. 22 

 427.81 



Pounds. 



2,586.59 



121.66 



3,506.69 

 117.00 



2,533.59 

 129. 28 



8,626.87 

 367. 94 



Pounds. 



414. 31 



22.50 



463.87 

 14.94 



397. 15 

 22.44 



1,275.34 

 59.87 



Per cent. 

 13.80 

 15.61 



11.18 

 11.32 



13.55 

 14.79 



12.88 

 14.02 



Pounds. 



65.59 



1.69 



19.94 

 .19 



13.53 

 .56 



99.06 

 2.47 



Per cent. 

 2.18 



Nancy Hall • 



1.17 



.50 



Southern Queen 



Average for three varieties. 



.48 

 .37 



1.00 



.57 



1 Only one year, 1918-19. 



Table 7 shows that the average shrinkage for the three varieties 

 was greater in crates than in bins, although the difference was not 

 as great as is commonly supposed. The average percentage of decay 

 was a little greater in the bins than in the crates, although it was 

 so slight that the difference is not of great importance. Under less 

 favorable conditions the differences might be greater. 



