4 
Colorado Agricultural College 
valleys, the Peachblow is grown to perfection, and in the San Luis 
Valley, Barklay’s Prolific or Brown Beauty is extensively grown. 
The total acreage devoted to potatoes in Colorado in 1916, 
was, in round numbers, 29,000, somewhat less than in 1915. The 
U. S. Census has in the past credited the State with as high as 
70,000 acres. If these figures are correct, they show a heavy decline 
in the total acreage, but we are inclined to believe that the estimates 
were excessive to begin with. 
Present indications point to a revival in potato growing, due 
to a better understanding of the fundamental requirements of the 
crop. While the acreage devoted to potatoes is less than formerly, 
the yield per acre is higher and the net returns to the grower, larger. 
SOIL AND CLIMATIC REQUIREMENTS 
The potato is naturally a North Temperate crop. The highest 
yield, as well as the highest quality, is obtained in the northern states 
and in the cool high valleys in the Mountain States. In warm 
climates, the potatoes suffer greatly from the summer heat and seem 
to be unable to produce a satisfactory crop. When grown in the 
South the crop must be matured before the warm summer weather 
sets in, and the later crop may be planted in the autumn, maturing 
during the fall and early winter months. 
There is at least one native species of potato found in south¬ 
western Colorado around an altitude of from 6,000 to 8,000 feet, 
showing conclusively that the mountain sections of Colorado' are 
naturally better suited for the growing of this crop than are the 
plains sections where the summers are usually hot, and wftere trie 
plants are subject to diseases occurring in these soils. 
The Greeley district has been an exception to the general fail¬ 
ure of growing potatoes on the plains, and here potato growing has 
been carried on ever since the district was first settled, with uniform 
success, up to within the last four or five years. During the last five 
years, considerable trouble has been experienced from the presence 
of diseases, which have caused great losses to- the growers. The sea¬ 
son of 19 is was very favorable to potato growing, and a normal 
crop was obtained. Whether this favorable turn in the industry is 
permanent or not, only the future can tell. 
The mountain sections of the State have large acreages in 
mountain valleys and mesas which have ideal soil and climatic 
conditions for the highest development of the plant, and these areas 
should develop into typical potato growing sections, both for the 
production of seed for the Southern states, and also for high grade 
market potatoes. Political economy should teach our farmers to 
