:1' . ”w V.‘ w my, ;;“.‘.-~11';.l4--:r.u" ‘r‘\ ’l._. (-11111A'oiila:‘ .1" 11 zw‘VIrnqax'A-‘Iailnéqi x '1 Jrzséser. \ lillSIall Inlt1l,|tl':1 'Il!‘l‘lill12_‘l1€'l’ll' ‘- ‘ «Mnaxsxlwn 1114'l~1!!-'I 1': illiil'li'lll‘nilfil 1. : ab'i‘ilaa‘sxx I I: '1‘ { Ira-4: latiIIIIQQ‘EIILdt'lfi I \Il-lillh J! I i . 1‘1 , I W .‘ I‘llIISIZIISIJIIIlll‘llI‘4!O'tlliillf‘fiflivil’loixfC 1‘42, , , n‘li1-23j4l{II‘JJIIIIJII‘lillliilfifilltlllillilc 1‘ I l‘3'1-I5'1IIII‘IQIJiQ!£81!l_'lll¢il’lfll4dli'l¢¢!vf ' ;_y“J-g.;,“gg.114.1;1.]I.14I1:1I.I1Ii0pd.lla‘ltlllildd:‘li" lil-fldllllllfl“!!l11IIII‘IIIISGI‘l-I‘liliflll II!!! LII 'Svll‘l‘l‘lOlil‘ll‘l’lfilI‘lIIIISIIl‘IIIIIIiJ! llll . . IIJIJ‘I1llliilll I! Ellig¥lltlilitlftx 1J1l£114.!!!IQ'II'IIIJI‘III'I‘III‘I'l-I IIG‘IJ‘ICJ‘II .! I IllI‘llI1IIlll1llllflilrl1‘llllillllll‘lil‘ II!(III{I’llliilli'lil‘ltiflr‘II JII‘II”)!1119.]Ill'llfil‘QlilllS‘ll'lli-Ii'l‘ll‘ll-fIlltdi'l'lI'lfl‘lltvi'iflli'i'e.‘ lifi‘ll‘lil‘d!!!" 'éi 6-: 14-101 :1 “J 151's. It! H‘S'I IIElIIllli 'I-I11.iaill!l‘il-IIIOEI Il'l l‘fl «21-,«r -1, .. .\r.~4A‘—-0A I 'l L ll 1 I! v ‘1 (I 111: I «,1: L193 . 11 '1 14 III' at; 3 I 'Jn " a ‘ v ”m. _ '11 1' 1': 1 "I ‘: 125': l 1.1 a: 111131: ' ., l‘l 'liil! ~][‘Iul "ISI- l n 1 x Hr" trajac‘is'lial (is' n: «nuns! (.1 ~ lal'llt‘i, 1: l . 'V ' l ‘ x, 3’11“ "thfidl i-x. . , Iv I £1138! I: 1 I» d 4 "r I ‘11 I I J l‘l’ 11":1‘1 It! 14 ‘1‘: ‘ll‘llldil-lllll'lllllld-lltl‘11'llll . ‘ llil‘llQlfldllllllllilll ll ‘ II‘IIIIG lil‘lltd_!Illi-IIIIIIIIIIIIII!I InIn1-uaaunnnx21Hsquatsuxnuanuauaaial 1: a 4 I‘I‘llllllillilllltlll IllIIII!)1I‘llIll214)!IIIIlllil‘lI1IIICIlltlll‘lilllIIIINI'lIIIII!Il1 Hnuunn I I3114ll‘lIiil'lllllllld‘illtllitallllilill‘lii s o w:at:q:-!.q‘_an.-'Inna. xwa‘aewrrxv 11 tttlluu flu ‘1 ‘ . « a. ‘ ' ‘ I... ' ‘.’ I" ' l ‘1 , ‘ ‘ihl “a it I‘ 2. ‘ 11 li'!‘.d.-.4i ‘l I’llil in"! I . {I H1,1111n{11111111(qualllialanlliliqrI!_l «111124 n i\b|l.1.lll1|l_{I‘ll‘llillll‘Al‘lI-IIfllI‘lII‘llll‘lllillllill‘ HI '2’ H1Hotau231411141141Iliaqllialrlw f, -'Il1‘l‘ldl‘lvlllll l‘iI! ll ,. IAI:nix(liIlilnlzlllliaaIl‘lxI: ~ . \Qlillitfllllitl‘a Illil$llillll¢l - ‘I’I‘11I‘I.I‘V'lll 11 '1 ‘J'llilvllllll 1. :94Hxl) . 1541141. ' 1111.!!! Al 1 (.(jlll‘ltlf I ‘ a ,. ’lilllilill! 1111111101) " .’Illl19l!lli . Iii-5111114111 ‘ (l’11ll‘lolilllr ‘ ;\‘4l:!(‘.u,‘llllz 91 1 1 J I I l 4 Ho 1111,)1l11‘113. ( 4Ia:.lvllaii_i1311 , li‘lfllllillllll 11:5,‘1151131! ; ‘fl‘lii‘qjl‘ilSQSIIIIIi ‘ I'cta'li:)c1lna)1 . In_i‘:¢:11\\QQ>\¢\*\ Amok w~>\0m.\|\K “tug? \/ 7/. \ \/ brawls w A: 7 fl p.31 V x” m. N EQQAK. / .. 7 My EQQNW V ((00 t- m mgr: as a .v s a a a. 9 , Mmfikxxmixr kuofiun. averaged 84 per cent during the storage season 01 1954~85. It Varied iroh 61 to 94 per cent and averaged 63 per cent during the storage season oi 1925-56. flfiort was made to maintain high humidity by manipulation oi the vents, by Operation oi the electric fan in the heater unit, and by distributing shallow pans filled with water or the floor in the aisles throughout the room. The evaporating power of the air was measured by means oi livingston spherical bulb atnometers. One atmometer was placed on too oi crate ho. 7 and one on the floor adgacert to crite to. 1. These atmometers were weighed at weekly intervals to determine the loss of water. hat; on shrinkage were secured by weighing each crate at intervals oi two weeks throughout the storage periOd and on percentage oi rots by weighing the decayed roots at the end oi the storige period. Soon after the erd oi the storage perioo (on (.1 March' 0 ior the 1925 work and on iebruary £4 ior the 1956 work) the roots oi eacn lot were weighed singly, dipped ior 10 minutes in a 1-1000 corrosive sublimate solution, and bedded four inches deep in a six-inch layer oi river bed sand contained in an outdoor prOpa- gating bed. To secure a series 0* uniiorm pairs, roots of identical crates were sliced in adjacent plots in the bed. ror the bed used in 1555, bcttom heat was provided .- by applying steam (alterrately) through both erds 01 three-inch tile lires placed 15 inches apart and 131Q 22 O - - . - . Q 1nnr.n_x noon 1+ Aha nY‘n n+ f. n “finnnnr‘ \1-1'v‘r1 Ear: :11‘!. 1M 11nr.haa deep at the other end. Because oi the heating eifect oi sunshine and the cooling eiiect oi rains during the early part of the prOpagating period and despite the applica- tion of warm water during cool weather and cool water during warm weather, the temperature in the bed fluctuated between 650 and 1020 E. The daily mean maximum and mini— mum temperatures oi the bed were 900 and 73° F., respec- tively. For prOpagation in the 1926 work a bed was con- structed like that described by lsbell and Kimbrough (5) for Which heat was provided by conducting the smoke irom a pit iurnace through a six-inch air Space underneath the floor oi the bed. A compact clay covering iour inches thick at the iurnace end and two incnes thick at the stack end oi the bed was placed on the iloor. The medium (six inches 01 river bed sand) was placed on this lager oi clay. l covering oi light muslin (which could be raised or lowered) was provided ior the bed. a continuous record oi the tenperature oi the bed was secured by placing the bulb oi a soil-air thermograph within the medium among the roots oi each lot. lespite the pro- tection furnished by the covering and firing at regular intervals during cool weather, the temperature oi the bed fluctuated between 680 and 102° F. fhe dail; Kean maximum and minimum temperatures oi the bed were 650 and 75° F., respectively. In 1355, pulling oi the plants began on April 29 and continued at intervals of 3 to 5 dags until august 2, -10... when plant production had practically ceased. In 195 it began March 26 and continued until July 15, anen plant production hid practically ceased. The plants were pulled singly, counted and weighed collectively for each crate. PRESEuTATiOU Or hESULTS Shrinkage. Che data on shrinkage and on per- centage or rots oi individual crates and on the average shrinkage and percentage of rots oi all crates ior the work of 1954-55 are presented in table 1, and ior the work 01 1955-56 in Tible a. liiierences in the Shrink- age between the "careiully" and the "commercially" handled lots were very striking in both years. In the 1954-55 experiments, ior the period oi Lecember 24 to January 21, the "careiully" handled lots lost less weight than the "commercially" handled lots in 6 cases out 0f 7, ior the period oi January 22 to zebruary 18 in 5 cases out oi 7, and ior the periou 01 -ebruary 19 to harch 15 in 6 cases out 01 7. Thus, in 17 cases out of 21 the "carefully" handled lOts lost less weight than the "commercially" landled lots. fhe diiierences were signiiicant ior the second storage period (January 22 to February 16), the third storage perioc (hebrurry 19 to Karen 15), and ior the entire storage period (hecember 24 to March 15). The; were not significant ior the Iirst -11- . awed .m . . ._ o a p pmswmeWWmm mmwwmmmmmw mwm mm omwwmfiwm_« * .0mHUSan hafimaoamSEOO: .m 000 gag =a0050 000: 0 **mm H *00.0 000.H 00.0 *+¢m.a an mdcwe av monohcwwwm 0m.m w0.0 mm.m 0fl.m 00.0 Hm.m0 mfi.aocfiv «0.H 0m.v 00.0 00.0 mm.fi 00.00 4 sad .m flaw H04. Em. E 00.0 0.0 0.0 0.H 0.H 0.H0 m om.H 0.0 0.0 5.0 0.0 0.00 a H 00.0 0.0 0.m 0.0 0.0 0.00 n a 00.0 0.0 0.0 H.m 0.0 0.00 4 c 00.H 0.0 0.a 0.0 0.0 0.H0 m o 00.0 0.0 0.0 b.H 0.H 0.00 0 L 00.0 m.» 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00 m 0 05.0 0.0 0.0 3.0 0.0 0.00 a i 00.0 0.0 0.0 e.0 0.0 0.00 m . 00.H 0.0 H.H m.H 0.m 0.H0 a a 00.H 0.0 0.0 v.0 0.0 0.00 n 0 00.0 0.0 0.H 0.0 0.0 0.0 d 00.0 0.0a 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00 um om.a 0.0 0.0 5.0 0.0 0.00 m0 0 mmHem HMDAH>HA9H 0 .003 0a .Hms 0H .000 H0 .cam 0» op on 00 - ..ma . m . . a .h) Aqusonv awnmwww s0 o , 00 0 0 a0 c,0 00 ca 000000 0000 pnoo Hog 900003 :0 mmoa ammo Hem HmeHLH npmqae afiqm .mwan0H .ovmpompomsm smaswae 009 HO mmmnoum Q0 psmwoh n0 mmoH :0 #00pm 000m mafiaocmm Ho oonodflme .H mflpme .pcmoHHHgmwm wohochgoo nmocmamHHHH * .ooHemag :hHHaHoHoEEOO: m .eoHscms =aHHsHmHao= H -12- ME H.0- 0.0- 0.H- 00.0- A0 asaHs 0. + 0 mozmHmHqu 0.0 0.0H 0.m. 0.0 0.0 0.00 0 0.00HH 0.0 H.0 ».H v.H 0.H 0.0w 4 euH muHam HHH 003. 0.0 w.afi 0.0 H.¢ 0.0 0.00 n a 0.0 ¢.0 0.0 b.H 0.0 0.0d 4 0.0 n.0a w.u H.m 0.0 0.H0 n m 0.0 0.0 0.0 H.H 0.0 0.0a a 0.0 0.0 &.m 0.0 0.0 0.0w m w 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.H 0.H 0.00 a . 0.0 H.HH 0.0 0.0 H.w 0.00 m w 0.0 0.0 H.H 0.0 0.0 0.0v : 0 0.0 0.0 0.m 0.0 0.0 0.H0 m 0 ¢.H 0.0 m.m v.0 0.H 0.00 a N.H m.0a 0.0 0.0 m.0 0.00 m 0 0.0 0.0 0.H 0.0 0.H 0.ww 4 0.H H.mH 0.0 e.v 0.0 0.0a m@ 0 0.0 «.0 0.m 0.H m.H mums H mdem H000H>H93H pnmwoa 0H .900 0H .Hma 0H .00; H0 .§«0 Amwgdomo an mpoh op on on ow pgwwos paws page 000 00 .000 me .900 mm .000 0m‘.oma HmeHcH -paona HHmm panoB n0 mmOH wsoo Hon 9 00-000H .opmuompomem naaanm 000 mo mmmaopm nH pmwfioa n0 mmoH so xoopm 000m mafiawzmm wo mommdamuH .m magma storage period (Lecember 24 to January 21). In the 1959-36 eXperiment, nor the iirst storage perioe (November Eb to pecember 23) the "careiully" handled lots lost less weight than the "commercially" handled lots in 7 cases out oi 7; ior the second storage period (December 24 to January 20) in 6 cases out oi 7~ ior 9 ‘ the third storage period (January 41 to iebruary 17) in 4 cases out oi 7, and ior the entire storage period (November 25 to hebruary 17) in 17 cases out oi £1. The diiierences were signiiicant ior the iirst, second, third, and entire storage -eiiods. Ihe results oi both gearg' experinents also show that, regardless or the netnoc oi handling, the roots stored in crates t, 6 are 7 (located ir the upper level oi the storage house) lost none weight than those stored in crates l, S and 5 (located in the lower level oi the storage house.) Tlia diiiererce was due, par- tially at least, to a somewhat LiELSr evaporation in the upper level than in the lower level, since LLB evapo- rating power 01 the air Was higher in the upper level than in the loner level. :-e temperature also remained _‘ slightly higher at the urges; level than at tne lower level. See Tables 5 and a. The data :01 botn years als“ snow that, with one exception :or each ;ear, the roots lost more weight during the first and during the second period 0; storage than during the third. The data in Tables 2 and 4 show 00m mam 00 worms 00 molmw em 00:00 0H .hmfl -14.- op em .omq baa 00H 00 ¢0n00 s0 m0u00 00 00:00 0H .Haa 0p 0H «:00 00H 00H 00 0010s 00 00n0e em 00:00 0H .000 0» mm .200 . Hm .s«0 50 00:00 00 Hsc00 me 00:00 0p em .004 oma own Soppoq 009 (amps mwmmfi cho>0 mwmau mampmmsHPQmo Soppom mo: owmam>d oQOm mmmHopm oHndo .mampmsoapw . 00 Sony pmoH amHsh .m mmmawmo mgg.«HQQSoa mpHoHsen uses amm coHAmm .00-e00H .mmaom 000H0pm QH mampmaoapd cum pmoH Hmpmb 0:0 .mgdpngmmSma .mpHeHESm .m wanes I I‘l'l’l‘i esa 00H 00 ,0ane 00 w0:00 00 valve EH .0.. op an .sdn 00H 00H 00 00:00 00 00:30 wm 09:00 00 .:«0 ca an .coq 000 000 00 00:00 00 “p-00 as wanHm mm .000 0p 00 .20: . 5 l - 1 . 0.me v 3. Eoppoa coy nam>a 00mm» ugmpa «was; -ollu'l'nl ''''' "'.l- .IIIIIII' 1.1""Ic'_ fill"- .mepmsHpmmo Bouaaa mar mwagm>H owned oHnso pgmmeoEpw .! mmaHOpw EogH pmoa amass .m memeos mazpmg>msm- hPHOHSSM pzmo 000 Ho 1. wowgww .0mu0u .nmsom mwMEOpm SH mHmpmsospd aoaH pnoH gmpmw use .madpnhmmsmu 0H0Hssm .w panda -15- that a somewhat higher humidity was maintained during the third period than during the iirst and second periods. Since irtschwager and Starrett (l) have shown that the higher the per cent humidity the more rapid is the develOpment Ol periderm in storage, this greater humidity oi the third storage period undoubted- ly induced a iaster groWLh oi periderm Which in turn reduced the rate oi Shrinkage and the rate oi water loss. Storage hots. Liiierences in percentage oi rots between the "careiully" and "commercially" handled lots, though not statistically signiiicant in the 1924-25 results, are rather striking. ln 5 out oi 7 cases the "carefully" handled lots had a lower percentage of J storage rots than the "commercially" hantlec lots. The data ior 1925—56 show very low percentages oi decay and that there was no diiierence in decay between the "care- fully" and "commercially" handled lots. Obviously, bruising should be avoided in order to reduce to a mini- mum the chances oi entrance oi decay organisms. In “eneral these results.agree with those oi r (T r~ Thompson and Beattie (3) and oi Smith (1). Thompson and Beattie iound that "careiully" handled roots oi the Looley and Nancy hall varieties oi the sweetpotato lost less weight and had a lower percentage oi storage rots than those "commercially" handled. Snitn iound that "careiully" handled tubers oi the hural Russet irish Potato lost less weight and had a lower percentage oi storage rots than those "norna115" handled. -17- Plant Production. The data on plant production are presented in Tables 5 and 6. These data show that in all cases the "careiully" handled lots produced sig- niiicantly more plants per root and per bushel than the "commercially" handled lots. There was practicallt no diiierence in the size oi individual plants produced by the two lots. lppirentlg bruising the roots oi seed stock does not iiiect the size oi sprouts. in all cases the "careiully" handled lots required by iar less weight oi root to produce unit weight oi plant. The "careiullg" handled lots procuced £039 plants per bushel in 1v35 and 2615 in 1956. The "commercially" handled lots pro- duced 1166 plants per bushel in 1955 and 1745 in 1956. The diiierences oi 963 plants per bushel in 1925 and 668 in 1336 are highl; signiiicant. ligure 2 illustrates the eiiect 01 handling seed stoc? on the earliness oi sprouting. Lati presented in Table 7 show that no sprouts were gulled ;rom the "commercially" handled lot at the time of the iirst pulling :rom the "careiully" handled lot. it the second pulling iron the "careiully" nindled lots the iirst plants were taken irom the "commerciillg" handled lots. it all pullings the "crreiully" handled lots produced more plants than the "commercially" handled lots. She diiiererces between the two lots were greater at the earl; pullings than liter in the season. Ine e results are oi considerable importance. Shed show that "care- (D iully" handled seed stock CAR he xpected to sprout Influence oi handling Seed Stock on Plant Brocuction oi the Triumph Swectpotato, 1955. , Treat— Mean 30. mean Grams flants 911T ment Jeight Slants Ycight EOOt per 60 hoots per root” Blant per sound 0 (Grams) (Grams) brim , bushelu filant” 1151;1V15111 341113 1 1% 17 $5.5 12.0 4.4 2.2 1865 B 170f8.5 7.0 5.8 6.4 1120 , A 17617.0 12.8 4.9 2.8 1975 ‘ B 142f8.3 5.8 4.0 6.1 1126 a 4 l9lt7.6 12.6 5.1 2.2 1805 ” B 195:12.7 10.1 4.5 4.2 1411 4 1 181t7.1 14.4 5.0 2.5 2178 B 176flO.l 5.6 5.2 6.0 867 1 19118.7 18.1 4.2 2.5 2569 5 B 15759.7 5.9 5.1 5.2 1125 6 d 177:4.5 17.0 5.2 .2.0 2619 5 195214.9 7.7 4.8 5.2 1088 7 4 186:7.8 15.6 4.5 5.0 2002 B 161t14.5 9.1 4.7 5.7 1558 nan7111ixu13 1—7 A 13242.2 14.5 4.76 2.71 2129 (incl.)B 171T4.2 7.5 4.58 5.26 1166 Liiierence (; minus 8 11:4.7 7.05* 0.14** 2.55 965* *(‘fl l"? t-’ .’. .i. Liiierences "Carefully" handled. . "Commercially" handled Based on original number 0: roots bedded. 1T8 consiterec significant. hiiierences are considered insigniiicart. -19- Table 6. Influence of Handling Seeo Stock on Plant Production of the Triumph Sweetpotato, 1956. Treat- Mean 80. Mean Grams Plants Pair ment Height Bl1nts Veight Loot per 60 Boots fer root. Elant per Pound q (Grams) (Grams) Gram a Bushelv Plant” 111.5171 5'0 .11 13.11113 1 A} 9245.1 9.8 5.1 1.8 2899 B“ 10854.9 6.2 5.8 5.0 1557 2 A 97:5.5 9.7 4.6 2.1 2755 B 2525.6 8.2 6.5 2.5 1817 3 A 11657.1 12.0 5.1 1.8 2841 B 10055.9 7.6 5.6 2.5 2059 4 A 11556.5 11.5 5.8 1.7 2648 B 88i5.1 6.0 5.5 2.7 1845 5 A 15928.2 11.8 5.7 2.0 2297 B 56f7.1 8.1 7.1 2.5 1626 6 A 118:5.7 11.8 6.2 1.0 2728 B 14819.0? 618 6.1_ 5.6 1262 7 A 16138.5 12.7 6.5 1.9 2145 B 112t5.0 8.5 7.1 1.8 2055 1510; ii 3.183 1-7 1 11732. 11.50 5.54 1.75 2615 (incl.)B 11552.0 7.54 6.20 2.54 1745 Eifference (1 minus B) 4i5.2** 5.96* 0.66** 0.79* 868* * ()1 m H .x. *. "Carefully" handled. "Commercially" handled. based on original number 01 roots bedded. Lifierence considered sig111101nt. Liiierence considered insignificant. -20... Table 7. Influence of Handling Seed Stock on Berliness oi Sprouting of the Triumph Sweetpotato, 1956. Pair Treat- Number plants per bushel at various pullings ment _ 1 2 5 4 5 6 7 8 9 1551v15041 81153 1 A} 557 211 509 174 290 104 118 502 174 84 0 59 154 175 117 106 158 165 80 g g 405 255 554 162 166 119 119 190 188 5 0 70 157 151 172 154 120 98 58 5 A 544 206 506 155 222 115 157 129 215 B 0 112 155 145 154 180 121 154 171 4 1 275 285 261 145 175 126 167 140 151 5 0 122 219 90 217 102 155 122 117 5 A 186 197 206 .154 165 210 151 98 157 B 0 19 67 217 156 78 117 114 141 6 4 255 215 508 202 206 182 157 148 206 b 0 22 102 65 165 56 129 112 102 7 4 109 151 244 182 125 108 126 10 207 B 0 55 117 57 109 106 168 149 200 11:5..u1 21158 177 1 269 215 284 160 192 157 129 158 185 (1561.) B 0 65 156 125 152 109 155 127 155 Difference (1 minus 8) 269 148_ 148 55 40 28 4 51 50 A "Careiu115" h1ndled. B "Commercially" hardled. earlier and therefore produce more plants per bushel oi seed stock ior early setting than "commercially" handled seed stock. They indicate a Siving to the grower in bedding space iOr production oi early plants. The diiierence in plant production between the tn) lots is undoubtedly associated with the dif- ferences in the extent and the degree 01 bruising of the two lots. 1t the eno oi the olant procuction period a careful examination oi the roots 01 both lots re- vealed that the bruised areas were larger and deeper on those 01 the "commercially" handled lots than on those oi the "cureiully" handled lots. E0 plants were produced in the bruised areas. T he data show that the "carefully" handled lots averaged 4.910.15 lesions per root in 1955 and 4.910.08 in 1956. The "commercially" handled lots averaged 7U710.26 lesions per root in 1955 and 8.630.18 in 1956. 1‘55 differ- (D .‘G \ . f. 1. ,. ,. nce 1 1.755 oi 2.8-0.5 ano of 5.7f0.19 in 1956 in iavor of the "careiully" hindled lots is considered significant. Figure 2. jifect of handling seed stock on plant production. "Commercially" handled lot at leit, "carefully" handled at right. Photographed on day 01 iirst pulling from "carefully" handled lot, Iour weeks irom date 01 bedding. S U M M A R Y in these investigations two lots each con- taining seven bushels of roots were harvested from a uniform iield. One lot was handled "carefully" during the harvest by placing the roots directly from the row into cloth-lined crates, and the other lot was handled "commercially" by throwing the roots into "heap" rows and then placing them into nonlined crates. Both lots were artificially cured at a high tempera— ture and a moderately high humidity 17 days in 1954 and 12 days in 1955. They were then stored at a tempera- ture of approximately 550 F. 80 days in the 1954-55 work and 84 days in the 1955-56 work. Each lot was weighed at two week intervals to obtain the rate of shrinkage. The decayed roots were weighed at the end 01 the storage perioa to determine the percentage of decay. The roots of the two lots were placed in ad- jacent positions in a propagating bed. rata were obtained on the weight and number or plants produced. Lats hivabeen presented wnich show, under the conditions of these erperiments, that "carefully" handled seed stock loses less weight and has less de- cay in storage, and produces significantly more plants per root and per bushel than "commercially" handled seed stock. -24- These results have great practical signifi- cance. Seed stock can be handled "carefully" by placing the roots directly from the rows into boxes, crates, hampers or baskets having a smooth inside and storing in these containers at a cost actually below the cost of "commercial" handling usually practised. In "careiul" handling only one handling of the roots is necessary-~that oi placing them into the containers. In "commercial" handling they are usually handled three times-~thrown into "heap" rows, then placed into wagons or trucks ior hauling, and finally placed into storage. The cost oi storage containers would not exceed the cost or labor ior two handlings of the roots. Even ii the cost of "careful" handling were greater, it would pay ior itself be- cause it resulted in a 62 per cent increase in plant production. These results indicate a considerable possib‘e saving to the grower irom "careful" handling in the required storage and bedding spaces ior pro- duction of unit quantity of plants. "Careful" hand- ling would actually reduce the cost of production. Consequently growers should handle their seed stock sweetpotatoes as careiully as possible. -25- ACKNOWLEDGMEETS The author gratefully acknowledges the aid of Lr. J. B. Edmond, iormerly associate horticul- turist, miSSiSSippi State College, who oiiered many helpful suggestions during the progress oi the in- vestigations and in the interpretation oi the re- sults and preparation of the manuscript; of Lr. 3. F. HOpkins, Biochemist, Experimental Starch Project, laurel, mississippi, who read the manuscript; and of Broiessor V. R. Gardner and Dr. Chas. H. Mahoney, oi the Department of horticulture, hichigan State College, who read the manuscript and oiiered helpful criticisms. 1. (\fi 8. IITERATUEE CITED Artschwager, E. and Starrett, R. C. Suberization and Wound Beriderm Bormation in Sweetpotato and Gladiolus as Aifected by Tempera- ture and Relative Humidity. Jour. lgr. hes. 45:353-564, 1931 hasselbring, h. and hawkins, I. A. Respiration Experiments with Sweetpotatoes. J our. Agr. hes. 5:509-517, 1915. Isbell, C. I. and Kimbrough, 7. D. Wood constructed iire heated hot beds for production oi sweetpotato plants. Ala. igr. Exp. Sta. nul. 217, 1922. Iauritzen, J. I. Iniection and Temperature Relation of Black hot oi Sweetpotatoes in Storage. Jour. lgr. hes. 55:663- 676, 1926. Iauritzen, a. I. an< harter, I. I. The Relation oi humidity to Iniection of Sweetpotatoes by hhiZOpus. Jour. Agr. hes. 33:527-t59, 1926 lauritzen, a. I. and garter, I. I. The Influence oi Temperature on the Iniection and Lecay oi Sweet— potatoes by hiiierent SLecies oi hhiZOpus. Jour. igr. hes. 50:793- 810, 1925. x .- a Smith, Ora Studies oi Botato Storage. Cornell L Trampson, i. C. and heattie, J. H. Sweetpotato storage studi o e f igr. Lept. Bul. 1068, 1922 N _ g1? ,