The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1909-07-14
TO PROTECT COTTON AGAINST THE BLACK ROOT
Prot Willis, of Farmers COOPERATIVE and Dernonstrave
Work, Tells of Government Experiment in Texas

STATESBORO, Ga.-"While you
have some black root infesting your
cotton in Bulloch county, yet there
is not nearly as much here as there
is in other counties in south Geor-
ola or in some of the counties in nv
territory"
This is the statement of J. w.
Willis, district agent of the Farm
ers' Cooperative and Demonstrative
Work, with headquarters in States
boro. Prof. Willis has had several
Years experience with this disease.
He was raised farmer, is a grad
nate of an agricultural school, and
for the past three years has been in
the employ of the United States ag-
ricultural department, with head
quarters in the Mississippi delta.
Prof Willis gives out some valuable
information to the farmers of this
and adjoining counties relative to
black root by which the farmers
might check it's spread. Prof. Will
lis said;
The bureau of plant industry has
been for a number of years trying
TO determine the cause and the best
methods of controlling the cotton
root rot or black root. The results
of the experiments of deep fall plow-
Ing and rotation of crops have been
so satisfactory that they seem to be
the best methods of checking the
black root in cotton, peas, etc. This
disease is caused by fungus in the
soil which destroys the roots of the
plant.
To show the results obtained in
the rotation of crops in controlling
the black root Mr.. &. H. Shear, in
Circular No. 8, gives this experiment:
An area of about twenty acres of
very badly infested black waxy land
was selected at Terrell, Tex And
l would like to say just here that on
land of this type in Texas, when in
tested with black root, not only a
stalk here and their died, but l have
seen acres entirely dead in the early
part of the fruiting season. This
land had been planted to cotton for
Il several seasons, and in 1903 about
1 IS per cent. of the cotton died from
root rot. In the fall of 1904 this
land was planted to winter wheat.
The wheat was killed by cold, and
in the spring of 1909 the land was
plOwed shallow and planted to corn.
Following the corn the land was
ploWed two to four inches deep and
drilled to wheat. In 1906 after the
wheat was harvested a portion of
the field was plowed and planted in
sorghum and the remainder of the
field plowed, but left without a crop
for the remainder of the season. In
4 the winter of 1906-'07 this field was
bedded, and in the spring of 1907 it
\ was planted in cotton, producing one
\ Of the best crops in the vicinity.
i There were only very few small
spots in the field upon which the cot
ton was affected by the disease,
4 whereas, at the beginning of the ro-
Il tatiOn about 95 per cent. of the crop
was killed by root rot
All Of my Investigations in the
Mississippi delta continued Prof.
N Willis, for the last two years, tend
to show the same results. One
years rotation showed a great de-
crease in the disease, so much so that
one could tell to the row in every
instance where cotton had been
grown continually.
Deep fall blowing aids in the con-
troll of this disease by putting the
soil into better physical condition.
The heavy, compact soils that will
N not let the air circulate through
them are most favorable for the de-
gelopment of the black root fungus.
On the other hand, the better con-
luton your land is in, early, the less
VI TINS disease you will have.
Two experiments of this were
also made in Texas. On Nov. II,
lSO6, a field on which most of the
cotton had died for several years
with black root was plowed Z to 9
inches deep with a 10-inch pillow. On
another part of the same field the
ldnd was broken shallow in the
spring in the ordinary manner. Both
were given ordinary cultivation, and
III the following November all of the
stalks, living and dead, were count
~ gu On the part that was plowed
geep in the fall 81 per cent. was
uead, but had lived long enough to
mature most Of it's bolls, while the
oIner part, broken shallow in the
spring, had 20 per cent dead, and
It uled so early that very little fruit
a was matured.
Another field was tried in almost