Potato Studies. 23 



HIGH RIDGE, MEDIUM RIDGE-AND LEVEL CULTURE 

 FOR POTATOES COMPARED* 



EXPERIMENTS IN AROOSTOOK COUNTY 



Th method of ridge culture is almost universally used by 

 potato growers in Aroostook County. Probably over 90 per 

 cent of the farmers practice what might be called extreme 

 ridge culture. The ridging begins at the time of planting. The 

 planter most used has a plow so contsructed that it makes little 

 more than a mark on the soil unless it is very light, instead of 

 a furrow, then the disks at the rear of the machine cover the 

 seed by throwing up a ridge perhaps 4 inches high so that the 

 seed at the very start is practically on a level with the surface 

 between the rows. A few farmers make a practice of going 

 over the field with a weeder and somewhat flattening the ridge 

 but the number that do this is comparatively few. The method 

 most usually followed is to go between the rows with the cul- 

 tivator perhaps 8 to 10 days after the potatoes are planted and 

 then as soon as they begin to break the ground go over with 

 the horse-hoe and bury them up also burying the weeds at the 

 same time and thereby raising the height of the ridge. This 

 kind of cultivation is continued until the tops are too large to 

 pass through without injury. By this time an A shaped ridge 

 has been formed about 12 to 15 inches' high and, of course, the 

 surface between the rows has been dropped by the continual 

 scraping up of the soil so that the tubers growing in the ridge 

 are considerably above the surface between the rows. 



It can be readily seen that in a dry season a field so handled 

 must suffer considerably from lack of moisture. In the rather 

 wet seasons usual to Aroostook County no lack of moisture is 

 felt and the drains between the rows are an advantage rather 

 than an injury, but in an extremely dry season it would seem 

 that the drainage is too great. The ridges being high and nar- 

 row dry out very quickly and it would appear therefore the 

 crop must suffer more from lack of moisture than it would 

 if the roots of the plant were below the level as they are when 

 modified level culture is practiced. 



*From Bulletin 188 Maine Station. 



