The islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1891-1899, 1897-12-02
BROWN Ror OR FRUIT MOULD.

4 One by one the various pests are be-
ing introduced into our state, the latest
to excite alarm being the well known
"brown rotn or "fruit mouldu of the
plum, peach and cherry. We first
noticed this disease last August in the
vicinity of Sumner, Pierce county,
where, we were informed, it has caused
moresor less damage for six years past.
Shortly afterwards specimens were sent
us from Olympia and Vancouver, and
a writer in an Oregon agricultural
paper states that it has been present in
Western Oregon for five or SIX years.
From this it would appear that the
fungus is widely distributed west of
the Cascades and must now be lnclud-
ed in the list of pests which the fruit
grower must regularly deal with in
the raising of his crops.
The fungus was particularly injuri-
GUS during the past season to the prune
crop and our account deals with it es-
| pecially as it affects that crop, though
it must not be forgotten that the same
| fungus also lives upon and is capable
of doing serious damage to cherries,
peaches aud appricots. In rare cases
the fungus is also found on the grape
and the apple.
Usually the first symptoms to at
tract attention are the numerous gray
ish white pustuleS tilat appear on the
surface Of the attacked fruit. These
pustules consist of the reproductive
bodies of the fugus, which under the
microscope are seen to be oval i'll shape
and arranged in rows like a string of
beads. They are called conidia. The
fungus becomes scattered by these
coridia, being carried by air currents
or in some cases by insects. Under
favorable circumstances the conidia
quickly germlnate, sending out germ
tube that will penetrate healthy
fruit and soon cause it to rot. In the
laboratory single conidium planted
OH an apple or plum will develop so
far in twenty-fOur hours that new
conidia will be produced. From this
it is easy to understand why the dis
ease spreads so rapidly in orchards in
favorable weather; sometimes the whole
crop being ruined i'll few days time.
A remarkable feature of this fungus
is that the attacked fruit usually
"mummifies, that is, becomes dry and
remains hanging to the trees. 1t is
mainly OH these "mumified" fruits
that the fungus passes the winter and
Oh such fruit the conidIa will be found
in abundance in the spring. While
the conidia will terminate almost inn
mediately under favorable conditions,
they are, nevertheless, capable of with
standing hardships and will grow after
being kept as long as two years.
The pustules just described consti-
tute only the reproductive part of the
fungus. In the interior of the fruit
are found innunerable colOrless fila
ments constituting the mycelium or
vegetative parts of the fungus.
Besides the fruit the fungus also at
tacks the leaves, the flowers and the
twigs. When the flowers are affected
they turn brownish and become rotten.
In most cases it is through the stalk of
the flower that the fungus enters the
twig where it sometimes causes serious
damage, especially in the case of peach
trees. The mycelium in twigs lives
from year to year and with little doubt
the fungus was introduced INTO our
state in this form by some farmer who
purchased eastern nursery stock.
The disease spreads much more
rapidly in damp weather than in dry,
SO that some seasons the damage Is
more serious than in Others. Wet
weather about the time the fruit is
ripening is particularly favorable to
the fungus and this may account in
part for the injury it caused this season.
REMEDIES.
AS the fungus passes the winter
mainly on the ''mummified'' fruits it
is OF prime importance that these be
gathered and burned. This treatment
alone is often sufficient to hold the fun
gus in check and even if the trees are
SPRAYED should not be omitted. The
experiments carried on at various ex
pertinent stations, especially those of
Delaware and Virginia, have shown
that the fungus can be held in check
by the following treatment: Spray
during the winter Or before the buds
open in spring with ordinary Bordeaux
mixture or with u simple solution of
copper sulphate (bluestOne) using one
pound to twenty-five gallons of water.
Atwood claims as good or better results
by spraying with solution of concen-
trated I've, using one pound of I've to
six gallons of water. This winter
spraying should be thorough. 1t is
possible that the ulphur-lime-sal wash
may be equally efficacious but no ex
perilnents have yet been performed
with this substance. The second spray
ing should be just before the flower
buds open and third one just after
the petals fall off. Both these latter
sprayings should be with Bordeaux
mixture prepared as follows, viz:
Copper sulphate (bluestonel...... pounds
Unslacked lime ....... .....-....... POUNDS
Water ........."...-......5o gallons
The best results in making Bordeaux
are obtained by dissolving the four
pounds of bluestone in twenty-five
gallons of water and the six pounds of
lime in the other twenty-five. gallons.
The lime water is then poured into the
bluestone water, thoroughly stirring
the mixture during the operation.
A WARNING TO EASTERN WASHINGTON
ORCHARDISTS.
Monilia fructigena, the 'brown rot"
| is, with the exception of the "yellOws,"
the most serious disease with which
peach growers have to contend. Ii the
disease is not already INTRODUCED into
| this portion of the state, we believe
there is little danger of its being brought
| in, provided no nursery stock is pur-
chased from other sections. If the
disease already occurs at any place in
Eastern Washington every effort
should be made to stamp it out. While
| it is probable it might never become so
| injurious as in damper climates the dam
ger is far too great a one to risk.
C.. v. PIPER.