Potato seed-piece treatment in Ontario

Abstract

Warming Segabo and Kennebec seed potatoes for 14 days at 70 F in daylight caused the resultant plants to emerge sooner than those from seed kept at 40 F until planting, especially if soil temperatures remained around 50 F. However, neither this practice nor treating seed pieces with insecticidal and fungicidal dusts gave any increases in yield when compared with untreated seed if the seed was planted immediately after cutting. A yield reduction may occur if seed treated with diazinone is planted in soil which remains cold for several weeks.