The log cabin Democrat., 1911-04-28

..ats5s " g conditions favora-
 '--------- --4--- --1-----i@aa ble it takes prac-
 ically all Of the crop in the most sus-
 cptible varieties. In Arkansas the | Jonathan, Grimes and Winesap are es- | 7ecially susceptible to th!s disease. | Ben Davis is somewhat less so, but | t and a great many other varieties are sometimes badly injured when he weather conditions are favorable
 md when the disease has gained a good foothold in an orchard.
 Description: On the apple at first
 he bitter rot appears as very small, Jale brown sometimes watery looking ,peck. These grow and become darker in color and sunken, the mar sin remaining light coiored. As the rOtted spots get to be as large as a dime there may be seen at the center of each spot a circular ring of dots slightly raised, which burst and give off a pinkish or gray moist mass of spores Very soon another similar ing of dots appears just outside of
 his, and it in turn gives off the
 masses of light-colored spores. As he spot grows the rings continue to
 orm, being larger and larger as they re successively formed The rotted area is shrunken, soft and dark 9rcWn, with the concentric rings ot 'ight-cClOred spore masses, and is iuite characteristic. The routed spots
 Ire Geep, often reaching to the core 7f tho apple, as the fungus grows
 bout as rapidly into the apple as it
 breads on 1t.
 On the limbs of the trees the same
 ungus causes oblong, black, sunken, 1ankered spots, covered with cracked
 drunken bark. These cankers are in appearance somewhat like other apple
 rec cankers and are very apt to be
 confused with them by the average
 seYeon.
 Damage: Tie cankers are not r~u. ,lly large crc@.5b or nun arous enough
 0 cause serious injury to the trees.
 70 most of the damage is caused by the rotting of the apples. In severe oases practically the entire crop of
 he tree, or even of an orchard, may Je destroyed in d few days. Bitter rot does not spread in cold storage, but apples with the rot started on chem before they are placed in stor- age, even if the spots are so small a5 10 be invisible, will rot quickly when removed from storage.
 Spread: The gray or pinkish spores of the rot are the means it has of spreading from one apple to another Each one of these spores is so small as to require high-power micro scope to see it. but just as soon as it is washed onto the surface of an other apple by rains or dew it germi- nates and grows and starts a new rotten spot. The spores can be pro- duced within two days after a spot is started on the apple, and, since there are many millions of spores produced from single rotten spot, the disease can spread very rapidly, and it does spread rapidly.
 Bitter rot grows and spreads in warm, moist weather and is checked O. even stopped altogether by cool, dry weather.
 It lives over winter on the limb cankers and on the rotten muGlmies of apples on the ground or hanging on the trees and begins to spread actively to the new crop about the first of July at Fayetteville, perhaps earlier in some parts of the state.
 Remedy: First, spray six weeks after the blossoms have fallen (not moro than six weeks) with 5-5-50 Bor- deaux mixture. This spraying is to mixture, so as to keep the spores rom germinating on them, and it must be thoroughly done. Second
 f the season is moist and hot spray again in two weeks; If cool or dry spray in three weeks. In either case use the same mixture that was used before, the 5-5-50 Bordeaux mixture. Third, repeat the spraying according 10 the weather until gathering time, Tn very moist, warm summer five spTayings will be necessary.
 Prevention; A great deal can be done to lessen the danger from this disease by pruning out all cankered limbs. It is not sufficient to scrape off the canker, but the limb which bears it should be cut out Also gather and destroy all routed apples. They may be raked into windTows in | the middles and turned under with a l blow. These things alone will not stop the disease entirely, and cannot l be depended upon to replace spraying.
 Remove all old, half-dead apple trees | from the orchard. And last, but by no means least, get your neighbors to | clean up their orchards.
 An old, neglected orchard is often the cause of diseased trees and rot | ten apples for a mile or more in every l direction. Such an orchard may have | in it bitter rot, brown rot, scab,