The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1910-06-10
LOW TO CONTROL THE "FIRE
blight"
Cause aud Treatment Of D'SeS'e
That is Devastating the Fru"
Trees of Virginia.

An unusually Adl 30
,onnlaints are heard this spring
~ limbs and twigs of fruit trees
diving This is mostly due to tne
ravages Of the fire blight oac-
terra which attacks pears anu
aujnce chiefly. but apples some
that II lives under the park
hence no spraying is effective
The disease is specially BAD Oh
Young trees that have recently
come into bearing The dead
limbs or ends of twigs with brown
o- black leaves clinging to them
contrast sharply with the orlsn'
green foliage of the healthy branch
es.
Most fruit growers know 'nese
D,ntonos only too we'll There IS
however. another injury caused Oy
This disease which is not so wen re-
cognized These are the diseased
-,eo.s or "cankers." in the bark,
caused by the blight germs lhey
.~a black roughened and cracked
snots in the bark. During wet
weather. moist masses Of germs may
he seen oozing from them and al
here to the bodies of any insects
u,bicb crawl over them, and so the
disease is spread. The blight
also spread by bees at blossomins
time.
what TO do when trees show the
Disease.
While no remedial measures are.
entirely successful much can be
done to prevent the spread Of the
disease.
Cut off all blighted branches
civ inches below any indications OF
the disease. Instead of throwing
these prunings on the ground, carry
them out of the orchard and burn
them at once, thus preventing germs
from the diseased branches from III
fecting other trees.
2 Disinfect every cut surface
made in this pruning with corrosive
snhumate solution, one part OF SUB
Innate to one thousand OF water
This is easily made by dissolving one
of the tablets sold by any druggist
in q mint of water If all cut sur
faces are thus disinfected any oac
terra left on them by the tools OF
anv other means, will be destroyed
? Remove all water-sprouts a.
fast as they start. They are paruc
ularly susceptible to blight.
Pare the cankers down int'
green wood and disinfect the wound
: Never use blight remedies
sold by agents. All are worthless
and many are positively injurious u
the trees.
Watch the trees closely. prun
off the infected branches every wee
during the growing season.
How to prevent trees from blight
ing.
No treatment can absolutely pre-
vent trees from blighting, but muc
NAV be done to lessen the injury
The treatment is based upon the fa'
that trees making a very vigorous
SAMMY growth are much more lkel
10 blight than trees growing SLOWLY
Therefore where the injury is yer
serious. keep pear trees (but nc
annie trees. which should be cult
vated growing slowly, by the 10
lowing means:
2 Keep the trees in sod, an
either Craze the sod, or cut the gra
and use it to mulch the trees. Gu
tivated trees blight more than tree
in sod.
& Prune pear trees in June. Wi
ter or early spring pruning. especia
" if very heavy. mates the tre'
run to wood" and hence to bligh
9. Give liberal applications
mineral fertilizers, those contalniI
potash and phosphoric acid. l
not use manure or any fertilizer co
tanning nitrogen.
10. Certain varieties, as the Sc
Ckel and Kieffer, blight less thu
others.
II. Remember that spraying W
not help, as the germ works und
the bark. where the spray cam
reach it. By paying careful attic
ton to the above points partial il
munity may be secured. Specime
of this or any other disease or
furious insect may be sent to the
pertinent Station for identification