River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1904-08-25
THE DREADED RUST.
Prof. Bolley of North Dakota Agrl-
cultural College Reads Paper
on the Subject.

q
meeting of the Red River Mlllers
meeting at Fargo. He said:
Conditions favorable to rust growth
and destruction of the crop-As rust
is due to the growth of plant upon
and within the tissues of the wheat
straw, naturally it must have its own
peculiar conditions of growth salts
fed. There must be the young ger
minating spores, proper moisture,
proper temperature, and the right
sort of food matter, or there will be
no outbreak of rust. These conditions
NAV be called the primary condi-
tions. which are necessary for the
DEVELOPMENT of rust. There are many
secondary ones which favor rust de-
velopment. I have studied these con-
ditions some every year since 1877,
and this year especially. Ihrough
the kindness of the Great Northern
railway officials, have been able TO
drop off in any field desired, adjacent
to any line of the road. | have MADE
MANY examinations in more than
one-half of the counties of the state,
and have paid special attention to all
such features as by observation seem
ed to directly influence the early de-
velopment of rust or allows it to spe-
cially destroy the grain.
What to Do-Drain your fields so
that all surplus water will quickly
run into main bitches. Get together
with your neighbors and open all
main bitches which are now blocked,
and open more new ones if necessary,
to insure the general drainage of the
whole drainage district. My observa-
tions are such as to teach that IN
large districts in which the soil is OF
real good wheat quality and has
never suffered from poor drainage,
rust seldom is able to do material
damage to crop which is otherwise
properly seeded. / have, however,
MANY times observed that slight
fermentation of the soil water, due
to stagnant surface water, has ruined
many fine crop upon very fertile
soil. and that rust under such con-
ditions always becomes very destruc-
tive. (2) Get all the ground ready
for seeding in the fall, if possible.
We have observed, other things being
eoual. that the first wheat seeded in
the spring gives the best yield and
best grade, and usually is out of the
way of the attack of rust. 1t would
be best for all concerned if it were
possible for the people of one com
munity to SOW all of their wheat,
within the space of week or ten
DAYS. The late fields are always LA
BILE to rust destruction because of the
first slight infection spreading from
the early fields. (3) Make a good
even seed bed with good soil con-
tinuity from below upward, bury the
seed at an even or regular depth so
as to insure even development of the
crop. a. Sow pure seed of the best
terminating strength possible. Such
seed tends to advance the crop rapid
lv. fastening the date of the harvest,
ripening it to such strength that the
rust cannot reduce it. (5) Sow only
seed of a pure variety, blue stem,
Scotch fife or pure variety of mac
aroni A pure variety ripens evenly
and gives an even grade. The soft
bearded varieties of wheat scattered
in a crop rust early and produce
great quantities of spores to infect
the surrounding wheat. These scat
tering plants of soft wheat always
furnish grain which will reduce the
grade of the crop. (6) Treat all seed
for the prevention of smut. Smut
weakens the growth of the entire
crop and retards the development OF
the straw. On smutty crop the
rust action is always intense, insur-
ing it's destruction. (D Have the
crop as free of weeds as possible.
Weeds weaken the straw, retard ma
turity, and tend to keep the leaves
and straw of the grain logged with
moisture, especially during the night.
During the day they prevent the
grain from drying off after the Slight
warm showers which are the most
effective in causing rust Infection;
and when the grain needs the mois-
ture to push it to maturity, the
weeds rob the soil of that which is
needed to fill the grain. Such wilt
ing grain is sure to suffer greatly
from rust infection.
From this explanation it will be
seen that while we cannot wholly
hope to escape the destructive effects
of rust infection, much can be done
to prevent it's damage from becoming
so general and so thorough. Besides,
the experiments at this station,
which will be detailed more fully in
the regular bulletin, teach us that in
the near we Shall De dDI0 10
procure strains of seed grain which
if kept pure will be SO strongly re-
sistant to the attacks of rust that
the damage therefrom will be great
ly lessened. This is one of the rea-
sons for which this bulletin is being
written, viz: to call the attention of
the farmer to the point that proper
seed selection and care of the same,
and proper soil cultivation and drain
age of the same, will in large way
overcome this most destructive of all
plant diseases and farm troubles.
Cause-Rust on grain is caused by
a distinct plant parasite. The par
asitic plant which causes rust is
microscopic in size, and grows from
spores, small seed-like structures. It
is these which form the pustudes or
rust spots, red, brown or black, en-
masse, on the leaves, sheaths and
stems of the grain. There are two
distinct species of rust witch attack
wheat, both of which produce first
red spores-which make the red spots
and later on produce the black
spores which turn these spots black
color.