Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 1886-1927, 1910-12-16

were uSeO as StoNh W
would be little danger OF losing the
trae nv root and body infections. Ex-
nerience in California has shown that
while Bartlett and other non-resist-
ant varieties have blighted as far as
the Nelis and Kieffer stocks, the In
fections have usually stopped at the
graft union. Every pear grower on
the coast who has had experience
with blight knows that Winter Nelis
and Kieffer, the latter being very
rarely grown, has noticed that these
varieties rarely blight seriously, al
though they may be surrounded by a
great deal of infection. OF course, we
do know. on the other hand, that they
are not immune even on the coast.
should. offer as suggestion that
Kieffer stocks might well be set out
and afterwards top-grafted to any of
the commercial varieties Of pears.
This will. at least, provide resistant
bodies and roots which will eliminate
the danger Of loss by body and root
infection. wish to urge that the find
ing Of a variety Of pear entirely i'm
mune to pear blight will alone solve
the pear blight problem for this spe-
cies OF pome fruit. The same will be
true Of any other Of the pome fruits.
As soon as an immune Is found the
possibilities Of plant breeding will,
no doubt. evolve commercial varieties
equal to those that we have now, and
at the same time, they will be i'm
mune from disease. This Is looking
far into the future, but It vii be done
as It has been done with other plants.
Some remarkable cases Of eradi-
cation have been attempted and sue
cessfully accomplished in Cali
fornia and Oregon orchards, notably
in the vicinity of Vacaville, Cali.
fornia, and in the upper Rogue river
valley in Oregon. In some cases
where perhaps fifty per cent of the
trees were infected on the bodies and
in the roots, but still had sufficient
living bark and a few roots left
the diseased portions were complete
ly cut out even to the removal Of al
of the roots on one side of the tree
and peeling fully three-fourths Of the
bark from the body. I have noted II
some instances where fully three
: dollars in labor was expended in re
moving the blight from a single tree
This, Of course, is exceptional, bu
: where the value of the tree may b.
placed at from ten to fifty dollars
pending upon It's ability to bea
heavy crops of fruit, this would no
seem to be an undue expenditure II
= eradicating the blight and saving tn
4. tree. Many of the trees so treate,
D have not lost their vigor and ar
D still bearing good crops of fruits
+ From our standpoint, as pathologists
S If the pear blight is completely re
y moved under antiseptic methods fror
r the body and roots, the job is sat
y isfactory. 1t remain, therefore, wit
the grower to decide how much labo
y he is going to undertake to save tn
i tree. Experience throughout tn
d east and south has been that wher
y much work of this sort has been al
# tempted on the bodies, numerOu
II failures have resulted, and the wor
It rendered worse than useless Their
n Is also more or less danger, in sue
Il case, of the blight in the sap Woo
d While the germ almost wholly live
= in the bark and cambium, It is ais
'e known that 1t may infect the ric
k sap wood of the Bartlett, Howell
s. and other varieties of pears. TIL
Is is also true Of the Spitzenburg appl
% Occasionally It has been noted tn;
'r the germs spread out In the vesse
N of wood and live on the starch an
e. sugar stored there It is, therefor
@, desirable to leave all eradicatio
le work on the bodies dry out thorough
L. ly for perhaps a month or so befol
e. painting over the wound with whi
1t lead paint. II any growth TAX,
n place the ooze may be detected by Il
n dlscoloration appearing on the pain
T. II Is certain that great deaf
m blight eradication work may be dor
to to the best advantage in the ear
ne autumn. for certainly better resul
is may be obtained before the fall rail
xt begin II Is also much easier to d
Us tect the blight which has attackC
a the branches and twlgs during Il
c. summer, because at this time Il
ly foliage generally shows where q
Wy blight has been working Beside
es trees that have the roots infect,
he usually begin 10 show = reddish al
Wy coloratlon In the foliage A bt
ng body or limb Infection Will also ha'
4 a