Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1902-03-27
SMUT In OATS AND WHEAT.
w. Il. Hays, and A. Boss-=of State
Experiment Station.

Smut in oats is doing more dam
age than most farmers realize. Prof.
Il. A. Moore OF the Wisconsin Expert
ment Station visited many counties
in that state in 1901 and by actual
count found that an average of 20
per cent OF the oat plants were af-
fected by smut, reducing the yield by
that amount. The smutted plants
are smaller, do not mature early and
are often unobserved. Consequent
ly, most farmers are not aware that
this plant disease is so seriously in
juring their crops.
Cause of Smut: Oat smut is pro
pagated by smut spores which live
over winter on seed grain, not in the
soil, and attack the sprouting oat
plant. When the oat plant begins
to ripen, it's panicle is poorly devel-
oped, black in color, and it's seeds
are masses OF smut spores instead OF
sound kernels of oats.
Formaldehyde Kills Oat Smut:
Prof. Moore, after experimenting
with solutions varying in strength
and leaving the oats in the solution
different lengths OF time, recommends
practically as follows:
To SO gallons OF water add one
pound OF formaldehyde, sometimes
called formaline, disinfectant sold
druggists in forty per cent solution
of water. Place the solution OF for
maldehyde and water in large bar
rels. Place about two bushels OF
the seed oats in each large loosely
woven gunny sack. Submerge the
sacks OF grain for twenty minutes in
the solution, lift and drain for few
minutes and empty on the barn
floor or on canvas to dry. Treat a
few days before seeding land by shoy-
cling the grain over a few times faci-
litate drying and avoid the heating.
The treated oats can be sown with a
force feed drill or seeder when quite
damp, bnt the machine should be
set to SOW about peck more than if
sowing dry seed. The wettlng of the
oats causes them to sprout few days
earlier and the formaldehyde does
not iniure the terminating power of
the seed.
Treatment Pays: This treatment
is thoroughly effective, costs a cent
or less per bushel for formaldehyde,
and the labor is not a serious ex-
pense. The Minnesota Experimen5 e
Station in 1901 treated some hun
dreds of bushels of seed oats by the
formaldehyde method, dried it and
sold it for seed, with very satisfact-
ory results. Fifty bushels of that
seed oats treated a year ago is still
in our bins, and a recent test shows
that it's terminating power is unim-
paired. Farmers should make it a
practice to treat seed oats once in
three or four years, thus keeping the
stock of seed free from smut.
Formaldehyde for Wheat Smut:
The same method as above outlined
will kill sinking smut in wheat.
Here the absence of hulls, which in
oats protect some spores, makes it's
practicable to used an easier method
of treatment. Spread the wheat six
inches deep on the barn floor, or in a
wagon box. Sprinkle on the mass
sufficient OF the solution, OF one
pound OF formaldhyde in fifty gallons
OF water, to merely wet the surface OF
every kernel of wheat. Shovel the
wheat over a few time while sprink-
ling on the water oinsure that every
portion Of every kernel is covered by
film of the solution. Occasional
stirring is necessary for rapid drying
and to prevent heating or germina-
tion before sowing. The grain
should not be sacked unless thor.
oughly dried. It is best, when treat.
ing only enough seed for home use
to apply the liquid two or three days
previous eto sowing the grain. It
will be necessary to open the drill a
little wider in sowing than if the
wheat were untreated. Persons who
are making a business OF growing
seed grain for sale will find it advan
tageous to treat each year all oats
or whoa + which a ra tO hp nlanta6 t6