VOL. LXVII
INDIANAPOLIS, SEPT. 21, 1912
NO. 38
Fire Blight, a Dangerous Disease
A Difficult Pest to Control
Once  it  Starts in
the Orchard.
A    PKSt'RIPTlOX    AXD    THK    PEST
RKMKDY.
[ By  M.   W.   Richards,   Assistant   Horticulturist,   Purdue  Experiment   Sta.]
Kire blight has caused more damage
to the Indiana apple crop this season
than all other diseases, combined. It '
is safe to say at least
85 per cent of the
fruit spurs were
killed by blossom
blight this spring.
Since that time num-
erous apples have
been struck by the
fruit blight and practi. ally every apple
and pear tree in the
-.tate has been covered with twig
Might.
Fire blight is a
strictly American disease. It has been
known ever since the
early days of horticulture but its true
nature was nut
known until 1881
"hen Prof. T. J. Pur-
rill of Illinois showed,
beyond a shadow of
iloubti that it was
caused by a Specific
bacterial organism.
How      the      Disease
Works.
The disease manifests itself in several
"ays and has several
name*. In the early
spring it attacks the
I'es.sotTiK when it is
known as blossom
''light; later on it
may affect the fruit
"hen it is called fruit
■'light.        Throughout
'he    growing     season ,	
'he disease works on
'he rapidly growing new shoots and
(,auses the typical fire or twig blight.
The disease spends the winter in the
'"idles of the trees in the canker form.
'•> the spring the bacteria start to re-
broduce and from these cankered
'Teas arise the organisms which are
""^sponsible for the new infections.
As the  organisms  in  the  canker reproduce,   a   slimy     ooze   is   discharged
rom the wound.     This ooze is teeming
H'Hh   bacteria.       Pees   visit   this   semi-
sw"eet,  slimy  fluid   and   carry  the   bac-
*Tia  to   the   flowers—a   blossom   blight
<*sults.      Aphids and tree-hoppers also
*e*l on this liquid.      Tliey can migrate
•he    tender    shoots    of the newer
growths,   insert     beaks   covered     with
m>riads of bacteria and the twig blight
ls started.       Porers  and   bark   beetles
"iso carry  the  disease  on   their  bodies
and when  tunneling into.the tree bodies  cause  cankers  to   be  formed.    Cankers   are   also   formed   by   the   bacteria
gaining      entrance      through      blighted j
water   sprouts.
The disease can only gain an en- ;
trance into the tree by ways of nat-
ural openings or wounds. Once there
it works in the sap wood of the tree, j
The fact that it works in the interior
portions of the tree and that it does
not trust to be spread by means of
spores renders it almost immune from
our standard  sprays.
These tablets are known as antiseptic
tablets and when one is dissolved in one
pint of water a 1 to 1,000 solution of
corrosive sublimate is obtained. Place
the antiseptic solution in a bottle with
a. sponge tied over the mouth. This
bottle can then be tied on the pole
shear just below the blade and used
to disinfect the stub. In hand shear
work the bottle may be swung from
the belt in a burlap bag which encases
the body of the bottle but leaves the
neck   exposed.
Winter Best Time to Begin the Fight.
If the blight is to be eradicated from
an orchard, treatment for its control
should be begun in the winter time.
Give each tree a careful examination
for   body  cankers.      Thoroughly   clean
jures the tree as to impair its fruiting ability. Py beginning early, blight
should be controlled for not more
than   $2.00   per  acre   per season.
The  Splendid  Fruit  Display at  the  State  Fair.
Tlie  Best Way to Control the Pest.
The only satisfactory remedy so far
advanced for this most pernicious pest
is that of cutting out all diseased tissue and burning it. All wounds made
should be thoroughly sterilized so as
to prevent renewed infection. Spasmodic removal of blighted wood is a
waste of time. If the blight is to be
controlled, a systematic effort must be
made. Cut out all blighted wood at
once. Make the cut at least six inches below the dead portion of the
twig. Sterilize the stub. This can
easily be accomplished by using a solution of corrosive sublimate made up
at the rate of one part to 1,000 part of
water. This solution is most readily
made by obtaining the corrosive sublimate from the druggist in tablet form.
each canker, taking pains to remove
all infested wood. Scrape the wound
well, disinfect it and then paint with
white lead paint. Just as soon as
the trees blossom, visit each tree at
least once a week and break out all
blighted fruit spurs. Rub off all
water sprouts as they appear. These
wounds will not need t-> be disinfected.
Throughout the growing season keep
the twig-blight cut out by systematic
use of the pole shear. Rigorous orchard sanitation should also be practiced as anything which tends to control insect pests also tends to the control  of the  blight.
This outline of treatment may seem
expensive and severe but remember
that a body canker may kill the tree
outright—blossom blight greatly reduces  the crop  and  twig  blight  so  in-
PREPARIXG  SEED   BED   AXD  SOWING WHEAT.
edltora  Indiana  Farmer:
The best method of preparing the
seed bed will depend upon the previous
crop, and the nature of the soil. When
wheat follows oats, or wheat, the
ground should be thoroughly disked
both ways before plowing in order t.>
cut the stubble and weeds up line, then
by using a jointer on the plow all this
trash is thrown in the bottom of the
furrow where it will pack readily, and
the capillary connection with the top
soil will form much
^—- sooner than it would
if stubble, weeds and
hard dry clods
formed the lower
portion of the seed
bed. The plow should
be followed immediately by drag or roller, and then the
ground harrowed alter every hard rain.
<•>■ in absence of rain,
every 10 days, for
it has bees found alter long experience
that wheat grows
best in a firm, mellow  seed   bed.
Sowing Wheat on
Corn Land.
Where it is to be
sov -i In the standing
corn the most practical soil preparation
consists in thorough
cultivation of the
corn crop, keeping
the soil mellow and
free from we.-, Is
throughout the summer. But where this
is not done on account of the corn
blowing down, or for
other reasons a good
seed bed can be obtained by using a
one horse cultivator
or mower wheel
ahead of the drill. A
much better method,
however is to cut the
  corn and then thoroughly disk and
harrow the ground before drilling
the wheat, thus insuring a better see.I
bed and a more uniform stand. Corn
ground should not be plowed for
wheat, as it lossens the soil to too
great a depth. Wheat requires a firm
subsoil.
.Sowing the Crop.
The best time to sow wheat in Indiana varies from the first week in Sept.
in the north part, to the 15th of Oct.
in the southern. On naturally fertile,
or well fertilized soil that has been
well prepared, seeding may be safely
done later when conditions for rapid
growth are favorable. On account
of the almost constant danger of the
fly it is advisable to delay seeding as
late as possible. On the University
farm   at   Purdue   the   best  average   re-