TOMATO DISEASES.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1843, 1 September 1913, Page 10

TOMATO DISEASES.

EXPERIMENTS WITH GROWERS. The outbreaks of diseaso a raougst tomatoes during the last few years, especially at Oliristcliurcli • and Lower Hutt, havo become so sorious and havo been, responsible for such heavy monetary losses that growers havo been alniost in' despair. Two seasons ago tho growers iu tho district around C'hristchurch appealed to tho Govornmcnt for : assista.net>.'. It was felt by tho officers controlling''tho Orchard Division that ■ Bomo of the growers wcro proceeding on wrong linos, inasmuch as they set out ' thoir -plants "in ,very heavily-manured Boil, and kept up what was rogardea as an excessive degroo) of humidity-ill tho houses. Thcso conditions wore specially eincouraging-to fungus diseaso. In order to domons.tT.ito whether this con- , clusitnr was correct, tho Department Bociired the uso of two glass-houses for -exporimental purposes. Ono of these houses was planted, and conducted un--1 der what tho Department considered to bo' tlio best possible treatment in manuring, spraying, watering, cultivation, nnd so on. . The other kouso was used for experiments, and was divided into oight plots, and conducted with a view of ascertaining the results of the dif-ferent-formula as wero in general use in the district. Tho yield of marketable tomatoes from the house conducted Recording to tho Department's instructions was the best that had been liarTested for many seasons; while failures jn the locality wero. numerous whero tho old style of culture had been followed. In Teply to aii inquiry mado by a repretentative of The Dominion*, Mr. T. W. Kirk, Director of Orchards, said that '■ another series of experiments is now iu progress in tho Hutt Valley for the , benefit; of tomato growers'in the Wellington district, arrangements having been made so that both iudoor and outdoor experiments may bo conducted. The experiments, which are.being made; in co-operation with the property-own-ers, will bo carried out throughout tho varying seasons covering. a .full twelve jnonths.: •'