TURNIP DISEASES.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXII, Issue 8834, 10 June 1907, Page 1

TURNIP DISEASES.

I Following is an extract from the Bulletin on " Diseases of Swede Turnip,” published by the Department of Agriculture, will be of interest at the present time. “Below the crown and forming a kind of irregular ring round the upper third of the turnip are numerous more or less circular depressed areas of decaying tissue varying considerably in size. They are light brown and corky, and are generally surrounded by a well defined purple margin. As the disease advances these patches crack and form deep fissures which spread deeply into the interior of the turnip, completely ruining it. Numerous black dots (pyemdia) now appear on the diseased patches. These dots are cone shaped and ■ooiiiuia immense numbers of minute spores. The spores then soon separate and are disseminated by various agencies, especially wind. A closely allied species, phormabeise, ( which is very destructive to mangold crops in various parts of the world, is now considered to bo a stige in the life-history of a fungus which first appears on the mangold leaves, and is known as sphoerella tabifica. The 1 turnip phoma will most likely be found to be connected with some fungus which attacks the leaves and ; afterwards spreads to the root?, where it has an excellent chance of tiding over the winter months and being ready to infect fresh crops the succeeding year. With regard to methods of prevention, it is only possible to recommend those measures known to be efficacious from the experience derived from the study of similar

diseases. There seems no likelihood of being able to check the spread of this fungus in the bulbs themselves, once they have become affected, but much may be done in preventing the disease from spreading from

season to season. Great care should Lo exercised in examining a’l roots ■when they are being harvested to ascertain if any show traces of diseases, and all such should be at once burnt. To leave diseased roots in a field is a sure method of spreading the disease. Acting on the knowledge that other species of the same germs pass a part of their lives on the leaves of the plants they infect, it follows that spraying with a suitable fungicide, such as Bordeaux -mixture, night stop the disease from affecting the roots. Crops in which the presence of this phoma is suspected should be sprayed twice—once when the p’ants are a few weeks old, and again when they are nearing maturity.' The storage of the roots from diseased crops should be carefully attended to. A thoroughly dry and well ventilated place must be selected, for it is damp, badly ventilated situations that provide the conditions most conducive for the rapid spread [of this fungus. Copies of the bulletin “Disease of Swede Turnip” can be had at the office of Inspector of Stock.