The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1901-02-01
II|I.E' COTTON WILT.
soHs i 1FurthersFacts Abou. This
3Sss5 Plant Disease.
|I,aE1o5N' 30 " TO sPREvENTsiT.s

oN TO PREVENT IT.
e! FFacls || About a Naw Enemy Of
Potion That all Who Plant
sfha Staple oughtto
Know.
ReW weeks ago We published somo
faei cohSerning tho cotton wilt, and
this SeokIWo published some additional
facseicoacerning this new ouelny to tho
oott}a plant. 81. Si,
ass PREVENTIVE MHAsUnns.
ISaRo;ootton wilt,;hs in many othor
Ipla 4 Diseases, oertain provontivo or
fpali iistige measures, basod on our
knoSssledge Of tho way tho disease
spTssisilB arc very important. These are
Rotation Of Crops, Land once IN
fect6GssWith this disease has noyor bcon
freed from 1t: It is important, thore.
foreS that suoh land should not bs
plapEsd for aeyeral years to ,okra or any
yariat AZ 0f cotton subjoot to this dis.
ease, Tho length of time tho fungus
will 5,ASai y in tho soil Is not yet detor.
lmipo but four years rcst has proved
sntiic Sont in several oases. Other
crops Z asS corn, oowpoas, cabbage, wator
mel9 sAss Alss otto, may, it is believed. BIZ
| iplsntHa on this land with safety.
reatest sproad Of tho wilt dis
easesi By the direct growth Of the fun
gust ifSSugh tho soil from diseased to
hoaifis ySaf1bs. On this account &c area
conaia Srsbl largcr than that on which
tho pslnts are wilted sh auld bo included
in nSthissrotation 4 Z, .,.,
Il b Samoyal Of Diseased Plants. An
cthSri it6 portant souroos Of injection is
thos. sseased plants themselves. Tho
fnngN spfodnoes on tho dead stoms and
rootsa 5EreatI numbers Of spores, which
arc ossIiad to othcr PLACES in a variety
Of We All 9disoased plants should be
pulled asAnd burned as soon as discover
cd & iBeSas to prevent <tho dispersion Of
the IDgns spores which will finally
covers nenl. 4 N
3 IA Syoidanoo Of Spread by Cattle,
Tools Shtc. Tho writer's observations
| in 5YsfipnsEp places in South Carolina dur
ing gth9 pasts two years lead him to bo
lieyes hAtSosttle grazing in the folds
sproaa S5theE disease. They should not
|i6es alloScdS TO pass freely from infected
areas hoalthy fields, and would be
;hettssgsS So,lsSto pasture suoh infected
Rsldas g FOOLS n should be carefully
loloanys q Ter oultivating tho diseased
landssE iRsuro complete destruction
Of tiia }6rea$o of the wilt fungus, su,h
t6olo. .aho3 DO aooured clean and then
laashdd .Ssishs.s 3 per cent solution OF
lfoymalin oSssas 9 per cent csrbolio aoid
ldelution. ,il 4. &. q
I|S4 Care Compoats Hop. -T Tho
1fn6g dc isS II y iced into the
barnyard and compost hoap, 80 that tho
manuyo becomes q source of general
infection to heah hby{ fields. Tho utmost
care should ,beSt IN to keep diseased
plants out7of the manure, and if thero
arc ahy Indications that such plants
have found thor way into the manure,
all suoh manure and compost should bo
used on land whore cotton will mover
bo planted
There is no obi jeotion to the use of
stable manure which docs not contain
tho spores Of tho cotton wilt fungus,
but experience has shown that in tho
oaso Of tho closely allied wator rmelon
wilt fungus q barnyafd once infected
will remain so for many years, and that
all manure taken out of it will bo like
Nv to spread tho disease. The same 10
probably true of the cotton wilt fun.
gus. q
The most encouraging results havo
come from the endoavor Of tho depart.
ment to find a race Of cotton which can
be grown on tho infected lands. There
arc always some plants in overy field
which resist the disease to q crater or
less extent, and it frequently happens
that Of two plants in tho game hill,
equally exposed to infection, ono will
| die and the othor 1.-Two to the end Of tho
season. All dogrees Of resistance may
bef0und, from plants nearly killed by
the wilt disease to those entirely
healthy. The latter arc comparatively
uncommon, however.
Different races of cotton vary consid-
etably in their susceptibility to tho wilt
dlaease. This WAS shown by an expert
mont carried out by the department. on
the farm Of Mr.. IL, j. Galloway, OF Dill.
lon, 8. o.
| twill be seen that some df the best
kinds aro among those most injured by
THE disease; but there wero ono Of
moro plants in each race chat entirely
withslood tho diaoase,. and tho seed
from theso has boon saved with.the in.
tention Of securing valuable RESISTANT
strains BY GROSS breeding thom,
Tho ability Of oortain cotton plants to
grow on Infected land ID duo to the fact
1that the wilt fungus is unable to enter
their principal root system and not to
any lack ofinfeotion. This has been
determined by microscopic examinat tion.
That infection of those plants has real,
lyStaken plaoo may bo dcmonstl ated by
an examination Of their roots for the
littlo tufts Of rootlots which mark tho
location Of Infections. Tho roofs Of
plants taken from the row OF Janno-
witch cotton woro attacked by tho fun.
gus in ovora hundred p.acas, ps found
BY actual count. yet in no oaae did tho
parasitic penetrate as far as the main
stem, while plants Of king cotton in tho
lad!oining row wore completely over.
como. As determined by humorous mi.