FIRE BLIGHT.

Taranaki Daily News, 6 January 1922, Page 7

FIRE BLIGHT.

OUTBREAK REPORTED AT PATEA. TROUBLE NOT YET DETERMINED. No little concern has been occasioned at Patea by the appearance of fruit disease which has all the appearance of fireblight, which is known to exist in certain, portions of the northern end of ,the Auckland district. The Patea Couty Press reports that apple and pear trees have in some cases had large boughs completely burnt up. At first this was thought to be due to the salt spray, but (states the Press) it is now considered to be the much-dreaded fireblight. A Dominion reporter waited upon Mr. J. A. Campbell, Director of the Horticultural Division of the Agricultural Department, in connection with the rumor, which has caused considerable apprehension amongst fruitgrowers.

Mr. Campbell explained that specimens from Patea had been forwarded and examined, but so far the fact that the trouble had been caused by - fireblight had not been determined. Fur)ther investigations were being made by the biological section, and definite information would not be available for a couple of days. If the disease should prove to be fireblight, it could only have been communicated to the hitherto immune Patea district by contact. However, if it could be transferred to Patea, which fortunately is not a great fruit district, it might just as easily be carried to such districts as Hawke’s Bay, where the fruit culture was an important industry. This was the aspect of the case which made the reported outbreak at Patea of so much importance. Mr. Campbell is hopeful tliat investigations will prove that the trouble is some other pest than fireblight. One satisfactory point about the matter is that Patea has few hawthorn hedges, the hawthorn being particularly subject to fireblight. Moreover, if the worst fears are realised, it should be a comparatively easy matter to confine the outbreak to the Patea district and completely stamp it out before it has a chance to "spread.