Tomato Diseases and Pests

Chronicle (Levin), 19 November 1949, Page 6

Tomato Diseases and Pests

Tomatoes worth over £i, 000,000 (at wholesale value ) are • produced every year by commerical growers in New Zealand,, and this ligure would be greatiy mcreased it the total production of the home gardeners was added. The yieid and quality of tomatoes, however, are often seriously aifected by diseases and pests, and for some years research worxers nave mvestigated ineans oi controlling these factors that lesseu erop production. » The Department of Scientific and industrial- Kesearch- have just publisheu a • buiietm — "Tomato Diseases and Bests (price 2s dd) — which gives m dotail description.s of the tomato diseases and pests, and recommends means 1 for their control. Thqre are seven major seetions; fuugous, baeterial, virus, aud physiologicai diseases; msect pests; spray and fumigation treatments; and soil disml'ection. These main seetiomare each divided into numerous sub sections dealing with jaarticular diseases, pests and methods of control, and to make referenee to identiiication eas ier and to assist the reader in hnding the relevant matter in the text, "A Key to Tomato Diseases and Pests" is appended. The bulletin is of over 100 pages, and includes about 90 lllustrations, whicn show the eft'ect of diseases and pests — sometiuies with comparisons between infected and healthy plants — photographs and drawings of the actual pesto etc. The important section on control measures shows that nearly all the majoi diseases and pests of tomato crops can be controlled by the methods recommended. There is also a separate section on the certific.ation of tlierapeutants, which was introduced by the Plant Disease,Division, and by which — as the Diree tor, Dr G. H. Cunninghame, point--out — the growers are provided with a simple means of obtaining efticien. sprays, dusts, fumigants, etc. The authors, Mr J. D. Aticinson, M1 R. M. Brien, Dr. E. E. Chamberlain, Di W. Cottier, Dr. H. Jacks, Dr. W. D Reid, and Mr G. G. Taylor— are all re search workers of the Plant Diseases Division of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Reae^arch, and they acknowledge the help they have received from many growers throughout tln Dominion, from the Horticultural Divi i sion of the Department of Agriculture and from the Dominion Laboratory.