Last week one of the potato experiments was planted. Potato plots are quite a bit shorter than the corn and soybean plots which can be several hundred feet long. But they are no less accurate due to the TLC that Dr. Zouheir provides. He likes to plant by hand in uniform spacing achieved with a rope with tape on it. Seed pieces are sorted for uniformity. Previously he has achieved 100% uniform emergence, so who can argue with that? To do this a trench is made with the planter. Seed pieces are placed, and then I use the backpack sprayer to put a band of the appropriate fertilizer several inches over from the potato and on both sides. Then they are covered up and then we stand back to wait for emergence.
In the picture Zouheir and Alex set the rope for the next plot while Jenna and Cami lug the potatoes ahead for planting. Quinten works ahead to make the trenches. What's the test about? Well it's a second year of PrimAgro P and K compared to Pro-Germinator and Kalibrate, C-Tech timing and also a new foliar P product will be tested. Can't wait to see how this ends!
