739 



INSPECTION AND CERTIFICATION 

 OF GROWING CROPS OF POTATOES 

 IMMUNE TO WART DISEASE. 



In pursuance of the policy which the Ministry has adopted 

 for the control of Wart Disease of potatoes, arrangements were 

 instituted in the summer of 1918 for the inspection and certifi- 

 cation as true to type, of growing crops of potatoes immune to 

 wart disease. The object is to secure for growers having land 

 infected with the disease an adequate supply of "seed" 

 potatoes of immune varieties, reasonably free from rogues. 

 The importance of securing seed which is true to type and free 

 from rogues for planting in infected land is obvious, since the 

 planting of susceptible " rogues " is bound to lead to the re- 

 appearance of the disease, with a resultant loss of crop, and 

 may possibly tend to weaken the faith of the growers in the 

 immunity of the varieties recommended by the Ministry. 

 Reports relating to the inspections for 1918 and the following 

 seasons have appeared in previous issues of this Journal. The 

 following notes show briefly the extent of the work and the 

 results obtained during the season of 1921. 



The inspections are carried out by a specially trained staff 

 selected from the ranks of the Ministry's Inspectorate. Each 

 officer authorised to inspect and certify a crop is first of all 

 selected on account of his intimate knowledge of potato grow- 

 ing, and this corps of selected inspectors is taken to the 

 Ministry's Trial Grounds at Ormskirk in July each year for a 

 " Refresher " course. At the trial grounds, plots of all the 

 immune varieties, new and old, are seen growing, and after two 

 or three days spent in studying the newer varieties and refresh- 

 ing their knowledge of the older ones, the Inspectors are 

 required to undergo a very severe test of their knowledge. They 

 are called upon to examine and identify no fewer than 24 

 varieties of potatoes, and to indicate what " rogues," if any, 

 are present. No Inspector is allowed to undertake the work 

 of certification unless he attains a very high standard in this 

 test, and a few of those who attain full marks are appointed 

 to act as " umpires " when occasion arises. The need for 

 " umpires " will be realised by those acquainted with the 

 varying characteristics of the potato crop. Cases arise, more- 

 over, in which the grower is not satisfied with the decision of 

 the Inspector who is instructed not to grant any certificates for 



E 2 



