4 
Colorado Experiment Station 
POTATO PRODUCTION IN COLORADO FOR THE 
YEAR 1917 
The year 1917 was a banner year for potato production in 
Colorado. The total acreage was, in round numbers, 45 , 000 , and 
the average yield for the state about 200 bushels to the acre, a 
total of 9 , 000,000 bushels. The yield per acre for the state is the 
highest recorded and places Colorado near the top in the yield 
per acre. Figuring the consumption of potatoes for the State at 
3 , 000,000 bushels, we have a surplus of 6,000,000 bushels for out¬ 
side shipments. 
The high yield per acre in Colorado this year is due to a 
number of factors. Chief among these were favorable climatic 
conditions, better cultural methods, crop rotation, seed selection, 
seed treatment, and a more intelligent use of irrigation water. 
While the grower has no control over climatic conditions, he can, 
to a great extent, modify his cultural methods so as to offset the 
effect of unfavorable weather. This would imply that a grower 
can not lay down a definite cultural program to be followed from 
year to year, but rather he should have a general plan that can 
be modified to meet the variable climatic conditions as they occur 
from time to time. 
From these figures, one gains an idea of the importance of 
the potato growing industry in the State. 
While the above figures are imposing and show a gratifying 
increase both in acreage and yield over previous years, the possi¬ 
bilities for further increase is practically unlimited. With better 
transportation facilities and with the settling up of the western 
part of the State, thousands of acres of the finest potato land in 
the world will come into production. 
The growing of seed potatoes for the southern planter is a 
new and unexplored field for Colorado potato growers which 
offers practically unlimited possibilities. The soil and climatic 
conditions of Colorado make it possible to grow seed potatoes 
of high quality and witality. 
THE POTATO PLANT 
A knowledge of the general nature of the potato plant is 
essential to an understanding of the requirements of the plant 
and to the production of a maximum crop of high quality. 
