THE DEVELOPMENT OF HERBICIDES FOR POTATOES

Summary. Since 1961 the Weed Research Organization has been testing and developing herbicides for weed control in potatoes. Inthe three experiments which are reported, herbicides were compared with other forms of weed control. The first experimentin 1961 was exploratory and compared yields following hand-weeding versus no weed control versus several promising herbicides. The highest yield was produced by the hand-weeded crop. Several herbicide treatments applied before crop emergence gave useful selective weed control.
Assuming weed control to be necessary, selected herbicides were then compared in 1962 and 1963 with conventional mechanical cultivations. In both years successful weed control by herbicide resulted in a higher yield of potatoes than did mechanical cultivation although the soil-acting chemical used in 1962 caused some crop damage. The 1963 experiment included triangular planting patterns, at normal and high plant densities. Increases both in gross and marketable yield were obtained at normal plant density with the triangular arrangement as compared with the row crop. The high plant population resulted in the largest gross yield but a lower yield per plant and smaller average tuber size.