El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-11-04
BURN DISEASED
PLANTS, WARNING
Station Botanist Gives Ad-
vice on Fall and Win
ter Preparations.
Far and winter preparations for

Fall and winter preparations for
preventing plant diseases in next
years crops are discussed by J. NJ.
Mann. station botanist at the agricul-
tural experiment station of the New
Mexico A. & NJ college, in a bulletin
just issued.
In his bulletin, which is addressed to
farmers, he says:
Are you planning to plant the same
crop on a field in which there was
great deal of some plant disease last
year that can be held in check by crop
Are you selecting your seed from
good. healthy plants that have not had
a chance to spread disease spores on
the seed YOU are going to plant next
vear2 If your seed for next years
grain crops must come from fields that
were smutted last year, are you plan
ming to kill the smut spores on the
grain by the use of fOrmaldehyde? This
is a comparatively simple and mex
nensive process and you can easily get
information on the method long before
time to do your planting next spring.
s.Have YOU raked and burned all
leaves, pods and stems Of beans that
were bothered with the bean rust?
These leaves are often the source of
infection for next years crop Have
YOU raked the dead leaves and twigs
from under your currant bushes, rasp-
berries, etc? Some of the leaf diseases
of these plants live over the winter in
Just such a kind Of leaf mulch.
Burn Diseased Plants.
Have you been in the habit of
throwing the trash from the wagon bed,
after various crops have been harvest
ed, into the pig pen or corral? This
NAV do no harm, but if there are weeds
or rotton vines, roots or vegetables in
the trash, the weed seeds and plant
disease spores may pass through the
animals and be in prime condition for
IL.
nure is spread on the fields. Many
kinds of root rot may be scattered over
an entire farm in this way. All dis
eased portions Of plants should be
burned in preference to being fed to
stock or thrown in a manure heap. Can
you find any trash on your farm that is
made up of dead and decaying parts of
diseased plants? If so you will IN
doubtedly want to rake them up care
fully and burn them, so that millions
Of disease producing spores that this
trash contains will be destroyed.
Clean Out Old Seed Beds.
do you grow any plants in seed beds
and later transplant them into the
field? 1t may be Of Importance to
clean out the old seed beds and refill
them with earth from a field in which
your particular plants have never been
grown. If you have to make cuttings
from plants grown in seed beds, be
sure that the plants you take or TIE
cuttings you make are from healthy
stock. Weak plants that are trans
planted often are more susceptible to
disease than strong, healthy ones
Burn Mummified Fruits.
as your orchard properly cleaned up2
Are there any mummied fruits hanging
on the trees or lying on the ground?
If there are, you will most certainly
want to gather every one and burn all
of them. The evil that is in each num-
mied fruit is far greater than the
money value OF many pieces or the
most choice fruit you can raise. Each
mummy contains hundreds of spores.
Are YOU marking all the trees that
have been bothered by blight so that
you can cut every twig that has been
blighted when you do your pruning
Each twig that has been bughted
should be cut six inches below the
bIighted area and all of these twlgs
gathered and burned You will also
find gummy plav~~ on the trunks ana
branches OF the trees lhaI shoula De
cut out and burned when you do your
pruning. These gummy places are oIten
the source Of the spread OF the DIlghI-
Do not overlook the fact that 1nstru-
ments used in cutting out diseased por-
lions should be kept sterilized. Is the
soil in your orchard properly aerated
so that the danger from rOtting OF
the roots is Iessened2 Are you plan
ming to leave large open wounds IN
your trees2 These are ideal places for
disease germs to enter The later WIN
ter is the time to clean them out, dis
infect them and in some instances plug
them up with cement Are there any
knots. cankers. Witch's brooms or other
on your trees, caused Dy
fungi or bacteria? These should all be
removed and burned when you do your
pruning.
Are you going to accept any nursery
stock on which there is crown gall or
other disease2 If so. you are paying
for trouble with dollars and cents.