The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1915-01-14
COTTON WILT
CAUSES Loss
Of MILLIONS
SOUTHERN COTTON FIELDS ARE
DAMAGED TEN MILLIONS AN
NUALLY BY COTTON WILT
AND ROOT-kNOT.

Washington, Jan. 14.-Ten million
dollars a year is a conservative esti-
mate OF the damage caused in south
ern cotton fields by cotton wilt and
root knot. To help to reduce this
heavy loss, the department OF agri-
culture has issued Farmers Bulletin
625, describing the two diseases and
the best methods of combating them.
Cotton wilt is most general in
eastern South Carolina, southwest
ern Georgia, southeastern Alabama,
and central Louisiana, although it
is found in the remaining portions
| OF these states and in scattered dis
| tricts in most of the remaining cot
ton growing states. Cotton wilt IS
to be suspected when the leaves OF
cotton plants wilt and fall off with
out any apparent reason. Where the
interior Of the stem or root OF a
| freshly wilted plant is found to be
Drowned or blackened the disease
is almost sure to be wilt A re-
duction in the length OF the main
stem and a shortening of the dis
tance between the branches is like
wise characteristic of wilt.
The disease may kill the plants
early in May, or its first indication
may be the sudden willing and death
of practically mature plants in mid
! September All through the season
affected stalks die The first ap-
pearance of wilt in a field is usually
in small rounded or irregular areas,
| which enlarge each season. Outside
the spots where the plants are killed,
dwarfed and sickly plants occur.
The wilt is caused by a fungus,
minute mold like plant growth
which enters the roots from the soil
! Closely related fungi of the same
| genus cause serious willis of okra,
! coffee weed, cowpea. tomato, water
melon, potato, and other plants, but
| these diseases thus far have not
been proved TO be communicable to
cotton.
Cotton wilt is spread by the growth
of the fungus through the soil and
by any agency which will transfer
spores or disease infected soil from
one field to another, such as cul-
tivators, plows and other tools, the
feet of men or animals, wind, and
drainage water During heavy rains
the overflow from diseased fields will
carry the wilt to lower areas, and
for this reason terraces may often
be built to advantage to turn the
water into bitches. Stable manure
infected by the feet of animals may
carry the wilt, and it is known that
it spreads most noticeably along fire.
quently travelled farm roads or paths.
The wilt occurs almost exclusively
on soils of a sandy or sandy loan
nature, and the lighter the soil the
more severe is the wilt apt to be.
Rarely has the disease been known
to occur on clay soil. 1t is more Sc
we're in wet seasons and less injuri-
Gus in dry years.
4 Where root-knot occurs with wilt,
the amount of loss is materially in
! creased
/ The growing of wilt-resistant cot
ton seems to be the chief protection,
although where wilt occurs with root
knot, rotation will control the root
knot and thus lesson the damage
from wilt which is increased by
the root knot nematodes
Wilt Resistant Varieties.
As a result of many experiments
by the department, it has been found
that the large boil cottons are gen
orally more subject to wilt than the
small boiled varieties. The devel-
opment of wilt-resistant strains re-
quires breeding for several years.
Mass selections from apparently re-
sistant strains of existing CONNER
cial varieties will not suffice. The
principal resistant upland cottons
are the Dillon, the Dixie and the Mo-
della. In addition several hybrid
resistant strains are being bred to
produce a larger boil, longer lint,
and higher percentage of lint than
the Dillon and Dixie. Other par
TALLY wilt resistant varieties that
have been developed by individual
farmers are the Sam Wood and the
Coyington Toole
p..iS+anna 70 wiz