The Daily News. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1904. THE POTATO PLAGUE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVI, Issue 281, 1 December 1904, Page 2

The Daily News. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1904. THE POTATO PLAGUE.

The prevalence in parts of the Auckland district of 1 the potato plague and two other forms of less destructive disease is a matter of more than local interest. The area affected us fortunately at present comparatively limited, and if proper measures had been taken at an earlier stage the trouble might have been confined to the localities of the first outbreak. As things have been allowed to drift, however, there is now a serious probability that next year may prove disastrous for potato growers from one end of the colony to the other. As far as the Department of Agriculture is concerned there is no fault to be found. As soon as ever the Government received intimation of the trouble the Chief Biologist was despatched to the scene of the outbreak, and directions were given for the control of the disease. But as the measures recommended are not compulsory there is no certainty that any benefit will accrue from this official promptitude. In many cases no heed has been paid to the instructions given, those who ivero too late for remedial measures apparently feeling no obligation to consider other interests than their own. In the neighbourhood of Onehunga there are to be seen whole fields covered with the blackened and rotting haulms of crops to which no remedy or preventive had been applied. These must form a centre from jwhich the disease will be dispersed ill every direction, and in many cases nothing is being done to prevent this ruinous result. But even worse than this is the fact that tuibers from these diseased areas are ,'tjeing harvested and sent to #ll parts of the colony. By an unfortunate defect in the ,law there is nothing to forbid ' this selfish- procedure, and there is consequently a great probability that next season will bHng a tale of trouble and loss from every district from the Bay of Islands to Invercnrgiill. The majority of the Auckland growers seem to have been so ignorant of the cultivation of the pota; o as to have taken no timely measures on the first appearance of the disease, and many of them have so little regard for the interests of the colony at large as to market and send to clean districts the hastily dug produce of their affected crops. Equally culpable with these, and even more short-sighted, are the produce dealers who handle this stuff. For many years Auckland has supplied the growers of the later southern districts with early potatoes, and, the systematic trade which has thus grown up had either to suffer some temporary interruption, or growers in clean districts had to risk the almost certain appearance of the plague among their healthy crops. It is clear that the former interest should not have prevailed, but with no law to protect them southern growers have now certain trouble tp face. The meetings and protests which are reported' from Canterbury and Hawke's Bay are of no practical avail, the absence of. legal restraint rendering them entirely nugatory. The only measures of -any use are those which each grower mey take for the preventive treatment of his potato crop. Fortunately these are simple, and, as far as material is concerned, comparatively inexpensive, but we are very much afraid that, as in Auckland, they will not always !be resorted to in time. Two or three applications of a weak Bordeaux mixture is a fairly effective preventive of the worst ravages of all the fungoid diseases which affect the potato, but even with the greatest care there is al ways a percentage of loss in any district where the plagiio has once obtained a hold, and always a danger of its - re-appearance every year. What is wanted and what no doubt will be provided during the legislation of next session is an Act to forbid the sale of produce from diseased crops. A provision similar to that of the Orchard Pests Act has been suggested, but in our opinion such would not meet the case. Something much more drastic- is needed, a, measure which .will enforce preventive treatment 1,-eing desirable ; and the destruction by fire of every part of diseased potato plants should be made compulsory.