The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1911-09-21
IN CANKERED FLAX
DANGER EXISTS
FOR FARMER
Prof. n. L. Bolley Points Out
Results That Follow Plant
ing Of That Seed

Prof. H. l. Bolley, state pure seed
commissioner. has the following to
say with reference to the question of
cankered fax seed:
Many people complain that their
flax has been breaking over as If
whipped by the winds or gnawed by
insects. The trouble is a disease
which attacks the seeds internally.
Any cankered plant which produces
mature seeds will produce seed which
the next seaso will produce canker-
ed plants. A small canker Is formed
on the young plant just at or above
the seed leaves Immediately follow
ing the time when the young seed
leaves yellow and drop of. This por-
ton Of the stem never enlarees. II
enlarges above and below this point
and the plant continues to live and
grow until Its top causes Il to break
over. Wherever one Of these plants
falls the ground for q number of feet
about It the next year will produce
almost entirely cankered plants. but,
this time, the plants will not break
over. They will be yellow and very
eickly. appearing weak and all Of
them will mature more or less seed
but that seed will produce, next year.
real canker plants; that is, plants
which break over.
The dryer land regions Of the Mis-
souri, river slopes are not very sub
ject 70 wilt. It does not seem to be
able to get hold Of the ground to re-
main there, but canker spreads ra-
pidly.
This is a real argument for crop
rotation 30 far as fax Is concerned.
No man can afford to SOW fax twice
in succession on his land II he wants
to continue to produce good crops.
There should go between each flax
crop three or four other crops, es-
pecially one OF two cultivated crops.
the last crop just preceding the flax
on such land where the disease has
been started should be a cultivated
crop. Corn furnishes the best re-
suits. AS this disease is very de-
structive under dry soil conditions the
farmers must practice deep blowing
on their clay subsoils so as to allow
the water to penetrate that the plant
may have an abundance of water
throughout the year. Wherever sufi-
cient water is maintained in the soil
to give the fax plant a normal
growth canker is not able to do much
damage. This condition Is reversed
when we consider wilt.
A popularity, of flax canker is that
the chief source of transmission is
internal infection of the young plant
in the seed. Such plants. when they
first come up, either have yellow seed
leaves or ones with canker on them
or brown spots, and such leaves fall
off early leaving a slight scar which
finally develops into a real scab or
canker which looks like a place eaten
by ants or crickets. All cankered
seed is nor or less shrivelled and
light weight. Farmers should select
seed with this point in view. Plump
and bright colored seed should be Sc
lected. for the reason that such are
not apt to have been grown upon sick
plants. Grade this seed thoroughly
30 as to eliminate the lightest portion
Of It. Treat the seed with formalde-
hyde SO as to kill any spores Of the
disease which may be on the outside
Of the healthy seeds. busted there by
the spores falling from the stems Of
the diseased plants at threshing time.
Farmers should practice crop rotation
70 give the parasitic disease of fax
. chance to die out Of the land. Use
cultivated crops to stir up the soil
and bring the spores of the disease
up to the air so they can be germinat-
ed and killed. They should give deen-