Echoes from the nashville meeting

Summary

A preliminary field experiment was conducted to test the use of calomel as a dip treatment for potatoes in comparison with a hot mercuric chloride treatment and a Semesan Bel dip treatment. A laboratory test indicated complete killing of Rhizoctonia sclerotia with the hot mercuric chloride treatment and a nearly complete inhibition of growth of Rhizoctonia with the Semesan Bel and Calomel. Markedly and significantly better stands were secured on all of these treated plots as compared with the untreated. In this respect the hot mercuric chloride and Calomel dip treatments gave better average stands than Semesan Bel though the difference was hardly significant. All of these treatments also gave significant increase in yield over the untreated. These average increases varied from 22 to 37 bushels per acre. The higher yields were obtained with the hot mercuric chloride and Semesan Bel treatments though the differences between these yields and the yields of the calomel treated plots is not significant. The trial of less concentrated mixtures of calomel seems to be indicated.