The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1913-01-02
Wheat Disease Can
Be Cured, Says James
SMUT is THEME OF NORMAL AG
RICUITuRAL TEACHER IN
WEsTLAND PAPER,

Under the title of 'tPlant Diseases"
Prof. M. C. James, Of the Normal
school agricultural department, has
an interesting little article in the cur
rent number of Tht Westland Educa.
tor, which should be of interest to
every citizen in a state in which the
resources lie in grain growing, and
where its business affairs are largely
governed by the success or failure of
crops.
"Plant diseases are especially injur.
ious in this state" writes Mr. James,
"it has been proven that when wheat
or flax is grown on piece of ground
several years in succession, the crops
give smaller and smaller yields. In
fact, If fax follows fax, there is al
most complete crop failure. These
poor crops are largely caused by plant
diseases, such as SHUTS, rusts, and in
case of fax, the wilt.
Some Of the plant diseases attack
the roots of the plant, while others
affect the stem or leaves. Loose or
| sinking smut causes much loss in
wheat. Scientists have been long
time discovering methods of destroy
ing these diseases; but before they
could find out how to destroy them
| it was necessary to find out how these
diseases attack the plant. Prof. Boil
ley, of our own state Experiment Sta
ton, at Fargo, has done a great deal
in the way of finding out facts about
these diseases. Each disease has a
little different way of growing and
destroying the useful plants.
did you ever find heads of wheat
that were black, and which gave off
black dust when shaken? These dust
particles were probably spores of
sinking smut. These spores are the
seeds Of the smut plant, just as the
grains of wheat are the seeds of the
wheat plant
When the grain is cut and threshed
these spores are shaken out and stor-
ed with the grain. When the wheat
is sown in the spring these spores
which have been sticking to the wheat
kernels are planted. When the wheat
begins TO terminate these spores BE:
gin to grow also as. they need the
same kind of weather conditions to
grow as the wheat needs. These
spores send out little thread-like
branches. These then grow others
which enter the small wheat plant
while it is quite young. The smut
then grows along with and on the in
side of the wheat plant until about
the time the wheat blossoms. It then
develops into spores in a new wheat
kernel in place of the kernel at wheat
developing. Now, unless the spores
are upon the wheat kernel, or very
close to it, when the wheat is planted,
they will not be able to get to the
young plant, and will do no harm; nor
will they do harm unless they attack
the wheat plant within a few days
after the wheat kernel terminates.
Because of these two facts the spores
left in the ground from the year be.
fore do very little harm. It is the
ones which are attached to the wheat
kernels when in the bin which do the
damage; hence the farmer can destroy
sinking smut by treating the wheat
with fluid which destroyes these
spores, namely, formaldehyde.
Loose smut of wheat remains in.
side the wheat kernels, so that the
formaldehyde treatment will not pre-
vent this disease. The smut spores
fall upon the blossoms of the wheat
and grow in the wheat kernel little
threads. These then remain inactive
until the wheat is planted next spring,
when it begins to grow and develop in
the wheat plant until about blossom.
ing time for the wheat, when spores
are formed such as in sinking smut.
These spores are then blown to other
blossoms of the wheat and infect
them. This disease IS held in check
by the hot water treatment.
.~If you will examine corn fodder
you will find large punches of black
material which gives off much dust
when shaken. This disease is called
Corn Smut. The spores of this dis.
ease remain out in the field all winter.
In the spring they are blown about
and lodge among young corn plants.
Under proper conditions they grow
upon and into the stock and cause In.
jury. The only way to check this dis.
ease is to plant corn in different fields
} each year and gather up and burn oil
: smut balls that can be found.
@sThere are many other diseases
like rust and dax witt, which do much
damage in our state. but spece will