The Fargo forum and daily republican., 1907-04-19

Reproduced from The North Dakots
Farmer:
Nearly every North Dakota farmer
now knows what fax wilt and fax
sick soil is, and the nature of the
1 cause. If the reader chance not tc
/ know. our advice is, consult your
Ineighber who has had unfortunate ex-
/ perience in the matteAs.and take steps
at once to avoid the occurrence of this
flax trouble in your soil Now that II
/ Is well known why land soon becomes
/ worthless for the growth of AJAX, every
farmer In the state ought to take pride
| in attempting to prevent the occur
renee of this soil trouble. not only up
on his own farm but to help educate
his neighbors in the matter AS the
wind can carry disease bearing parti-
cles of dirt from farm to farm, 1t is
easily seen that it will be a good pol
icy to try to get your neighbors on
the right road to avoid the disease.
It will be a great source of wealth
to the farmers of this state IL, unlike
all others heretofore, they can Sc
nearly eradicate this disease Of flax
from their seed flax and from the soil
of the state they they may continue
to produce good crops of flax Think
what a boon to this region 1t would
| be, If the farmers might continue to
/ produce as heavy crops of flax on
their lands in the future as they do
now upon new land, This is a new
doctrine but I do not hesitate to say
that such can be the case. and even
much better crops than are now
grown. Remember that 1t was once
quite generally held that no one could
tell how to avoid the occurrence OF
smut in wheat and oats. -a
More careful attention must be
IgiveR to saving, curing, grading, and
treating the seed for this crop than for
wheat, but the returns will surprise
the doers.tH 1t is also known that more
| attention will have to be given to- crop
rotation, 81 If sfiax,is to be grown, but
there is really no reason why we
soil trouble as effectively as intelli-
gent farming now prevents the occur
renee of smut in wheat.
The following are some of the chief
points concerning the diseases:
l. There is diseased condition OF
flax soils which has long been known
to farmers in flax producing regions
as fax-sick soils.
2 If flax is sowed rather continu-
ously for number of years upon the
same soil, this disease tends to thor
oughly infect the soil so that flaX
growing becomes no longer profitable
3. The disease may be spread by
way of the seed flax
A. The plants attacked die at all
ages as IL for want OF water; hence
have called the trouble the fax will
disease.
5. The direct cause Is minute
fungus parasite which grows on the
| inside of the flax plant, starting either
| from the seed, or by attacking the
| roots of older plants, if the soil has
previously been infested.
l g. There are many ways in which
the infection might reach new fields
but the chief one is by way of the seed
T. The spores of the parasite gel
into the seed flax at threshing time
rattling off from the side of the flax
straws which have been attacked by
the parasite.
8. When such infected flax seed Is
sown, the spores of the fungus germi-
plants. Those attacked early, die al
once and there may be no stand even
from good seed il the spores of the
parasite are abundant. When once in
the ground the fungus spreads rapidly
attacking new plants throughout the
| season. 1t can live from year to year
upon the humus of the soil, hence the
soil is soon ruined for fax.
8. ALI other farm crops do well
upon the fiax-sick soil. 1t has not lost
| fertility for fax, as Is proved by ex-
periments which destroy the spores
without injuring the soil. If soil is
once infested, these last facts teach
that the farmer should have recourse
to the growth of other crops than flax
until the land Is again free of the dis
ease. This Is exactly what has always
been done in Russia and other noted
fax countries. though heretofore, IL
was never known why this rotation
was so necessary to flax.
10. The fungus belong to genus
| of plants which botanists have called
| Fusarium. As this Is new species,
have called 1t F'usarium lini.
II. Much of the soil in this state
has not yet been infected, butt practi-
calIy all samples of seed flax yet ex-
amined show the presence OF the Fusa-
rum spores. 1t is probable that nc
sample of flax seed Is entirely free
from Infection.
IL. BY examination of seed samples
and extensive correspondence. / have
learned that the wilt disease or fax lis
found ip all countries in which the
crop is grown. When the soil is once
infected no way Is known to rid II of
the parasite, except BY careful cultiva-
ton and wide serted crop rotation.
Recommendations.
1. Use only plump bright colored
flax for seed.
2. Clean all seed thoroughly in a
tanning mill until all bits OF straw and
chafT as well as light weight seeds