PLANT RESEARCH.

Putaruru Press, Volume VII, Issue 269, 3 January 1929, Page 3

PLANT RESEARCH.

PALMERSTON EXPERIMENTS. The establishment of the Plant Research Station, headquarters of which are in Palmerston North, opens up a bright vista for the primary producers of New Zealand in that active investigation into the cause of many of the diseases of crops which have caused losses amounting to millions of pound* annually is now to be undertaken. Dr Cunningham, in charge of the myeological laboratory, gave a newspaper represei rative a brief outline of the work t uat was being undertaken by his branch this year, the magnitude ot which it is almost impossible fbr tho layman to grasp. Club Root Problem.

One of our major problems is club root in swedes, remarked Dr Cunning Ham. Our investigations are being carried out along three lines—firstly, whether the disease is seed borne; secdndly, how long the disease will last In the ground; and, thirdly, whcthe r weeds related to swedes, such as wil-l turnip, shepherd’s purse, and the like, act as hosts for the disease. If the disease is seed borne, we will be able to work out a method of seed treatment that will ensure that in virgin land, the resultant crap will be disease tree and the land will remain uninfected.

As regards the length of time the disease will last in the ground, Dr Cunningham stated that the investigations were of an exceedingly complicated nature, and will extend over a period of seven years. Crop rotations and crop combinations and manurial effects were all being taken into account.

The question of whether the disease was seed-borne or not will be decided this year. Collar Rot in Peaai

Although a major problem for in vestigation, collar rot in peas, I9i Cunningham explained,, did- not have such an important place in the list of diseases effecting the wealth that was being derived fom the land in that .pea-growing was not a extensive industry. Investigations Rad proved that the disease was cauned in the seed, and his staff was Njow Revising a method of seed-tratment with the view to its elimination. It was not known whether the organism persisted in the soil and a series of experiments to decide this point were being undertaken this year. If it is found that the trouble does persist iu the ground, then a method of treatment will have , to be wirked out to at least shorten the life of the germ. “At the present time,” lie added, “we are preparing to raise bulk lines of pedigree disease-free P ea seed in Palmerston No’th. This seed will be distributed later to selected farmers, who will grow it under departmental supervision in various parts of tho Dominion.” Insects Upset Experiments. Dry rot in swedes which caused losses in a year amounting to a million pounds at least, it was explained, was a seed-bo-no disease, and was not carried in the soil. The problem of control hinged on the working out of an efficient method of seed treatment. That had boon done in the laboratory, but in the field it had been found that insects, man himself, and small animals upset the calculations of the investigators in that they carried the rot organisms on thei*‘ feet from crop to crop. This year the station is carrying out an elaborate series of ex periments under insect-proof cages, designed to prove (1) that diseased line:* of seed will give rise to a diseased crop, (2) that clean seed will result in a disease-f ee croy\ and that treated diseased seed will proiiucu clean roots.