UK Trial no 4.
Object of UK trial 4.
The object of this trial is to reduce the time that the potatoes spend growing in the barrels.
It is estimated that the potatoes will take 16 weeks from planting to harvesting. This would give us three crops a year from each barrel. To reduce this time we will plant chitting potatoes in pots, when the potatoes are large enough they will be transplanted into the barrel. This way the potatoes can be started growing some weeks before the barrel they will be grown in is harvested.
If we can keep the potatoes in pots for 3 weeks the barrel time will be reduced to 13 weeks therefore we could get 4 harvests a year instead of 3. This means that to reach our target of 60 KG a year per barrel instead of having to average 20Kg per harvest we will only have to average 15KG.
If we do manage our target of 20 KG the total value of the harvest will equate to the equivalent value of four months wages instead of three months wages for the average Gambian worker.
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Method of UK trial 4.
I left six potatoes to start chitting.
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I cut off slices of chitting potato small enough to fit in plastic coffee cups.
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The potatoes that were left would be eaten in The Gambia thus giving us effectively ‘free’ seed potatoes.
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The pots were half filled with soil and the chitting potatoes carefully placed on it.
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Finally, the potatoes were covered with soil and watered.
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The potatoes will be left to grow to see if such a small amount of potato will make a strong plant. Assuming at this stage that it does, then further trials will be made to compare the final harvest between these and a full size potato.
1st update 13th May 2008.
The nine 'potatoes' were planted today.
2nd update 27th May.
These photos were taken today, 14 days after I planted them. You can see that there is plenty of good root and leaf growth. So far this trial is very encouraging.
3rd update 30th May.
The potatoes have outgrown thier pots so I have planted them in my garden.
Asuming the same growth rate as in The Gambia, by using cut down water bottles as pots (these are larger than my coffee cups) our target of three week growing in pots is defanitely realistic, so the first objective of this trial has already been achieved.
First I deep dug the strip of garden I intended to transplant the potatoes into. I then dug a row of holes deep enough so that when the potato plants were put in the top of the growth would be below ground level.
The potatoes were carfully planted so as not to disturb the soil around the roots.
After planting they were watered in well.
As the potatoes grow, the holes will be gradualy filled in.
4th update 7th June.
The potatoes have grown well in the past seven days.
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5th update 14th June.
Again the potatoes have grown well in the past seven days.
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Supplementary Trials to Uk Trial 4.
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Supplementary Trial A.
Object.
To find out if cutting the potatoes as we have been doing in trial 4, affects the speed at which the potato grows.
Method.
Two chiting potatoes were chosen.
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One was cut the same as the others in trial 4.
The two potatoes were planted exactly 100mm from the top of the container.
Then covered with 10mm of soil.
They will be left to grow to see if there is any differense in the rate of growth for the two potatoes.
Update 1. 8th June
Potatoes planted today.
Update 2. 15 June.
Potato on the left (the cut slice) is just poking through the soil.
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Update 3. 22 June.
Photo taken today.
Update 4. 29 June.
Photo taken today.
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Supplementary Trial B.
This trial is to find out if the depth that the cut potatoes are planted has any affect, on both the amount of root and green growth, that the potatoes develop in the three weeks prior to being transplanted into a barrel.
Method.
One potato was chosen that had several chits on it.
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Three chits were carefully cut off the potato.
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Three coffee cups were one third filled with soil.
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The potato slices were layed on the soil. One pot (A) just had enough soil added to still leave the chit just showing, the second (B) was two thirds filled and the third (C) was filled to the top.
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After two weeks the pots will be empted, and the amount of growth recorded.
Update 1. 15th June.
Pots planted today.
Update 2. 22 June.
Potato with least soil now showing.
Update 2. 29th June.
Potatoes taken out of the pots today, to see the results of this trial.
The top growth on the potatoes has developed well in two weeks. Interestingly potato C, that was covered with the most soil, has put on the most growth.
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A B C
Like the top growth in all the pots the root growth is also well developed.
There is most root growth in pot C, also with pot C, there are roots developing on the stems right up to the top of the pot.
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In all the pots the root growth has developed around the original chit. This has had the effect of putting all the root growth towards the out side of the pot, and none in the center.
Today, I have replanted two of the pots the same way as pot C, but this time I have cut the chit as small as possible, to try to get more root growth in the middle of the pot.
In one pot (pot A) I planted the chit with the 'eyes' pointing up in the normal way, but the other (pot B) with the 'eyes' pointing sideways.
The pot will be grown for three weeks, then the root growth assesed.
Up date after three weeks.
The top growth in pot B is slightly more than in pot A.
As with the top growth there is more root growth in pot B.
On only two plants it is to early to be certain of these results but it is definitely worth more investigation next year.
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Today (June 29th) I have planted three more potato chits, but this time in bigger pots made from empty plastic bottles, that I can easily get free in The Gambia.
A B C
In the pots, I put 100mm of soil, then planted the potato chits level with the top of the soil. In pot A, I added just enough soil to cover the chit in B, I added 50mm of soil and in C, I added 100mm of soil.
Learning from the root growth in the smaller pots, I have cut the chits smaller this time.
Subject to the combined results of this and the other trials, I am expecting that potatoes will be started to grow as in pot B, when they are grown in the full size trials in The Gambia next year.
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Udate August 3rd.
The potatoes were taken from the pots today.
A B C
Pot B, has made two shoots, but overall the strongest top growth is in pot C.
A B C
Pot C, has defanitaly made the best root growth. There are root shoots all the way up to the top of the soil.
Pot C.
From the close up photo, you can see the roots all the way up the white stem that was in the soil.
Results will be fully analised when the final results come in from all the trials.
This page will be updated as the project progresses.