El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-07-08
CHLOROSIS ATTACKS THE ROSES;
Fl PASO TREES ALSO AFFECTED
New Mexico College of Agriculture Makes Suggestions
for Possible Relief from Malady Affecting Thou
sands of Plants and Trees in Ell Paso and Else
where in the Southwest Remedies Effective.

lack OF iron In the affected plant and
much work is being done 10 determine
the cause for the deficiency and rem
edy. Some hold that the presence OF
too much OF too little available nitrate
nitrogen in the soil may cause a chlo-
rotic condition. They seek to learn
what factors. bacterial OF otherwise.
regulate the formation OF the nitrates
and what governs the utilization of the
nitrogen by the plant Still other in
vestigators are working 10 find what
effect on the thrift Of the plant is had
by the presence in the soil. in varying
proportions. OF calcium and magnesium
as carbonstes. and Of iron salts
Relief Is Given.
In the last case relief has been OBJ
to the soil in which the plants grew Of
the carbonate that was deficient to
counteract the effect OF the one that
was in excess. Results are variable The
application Of iron sulphaIe about the
roots of chlorotic plants gave fairly
good results but was not feasible from
an economic standpoint
In the second case. where the soil
was high in nitrates, the turning under
OF straw has given relief TO affected
under of green cover crops has served
to maintain, apparently, the nitrogen
balance, and preserve the normal green.
Treating a Tree.
Along lines Of investg cation IN the
first case. a tentative remedy has been
suggested In the application Of ferrous
sulphate OF iron (green vitrioD to the
plants. either as a spray, or by plug
ging. The latter. of course, is not ap-
plicable to small plants
ITO plug j tree. bore from I to I
holes - to IL inch in diameter. de-
pending upon the size of the tree TO be
treated. and deep enough TO pierce the
cambium layer and touch the heart
wood. Into the holes put as much fer
roUs sulphate Of iron as possible and
cover with ordinary grating wax
These little wounds heal rapidly The
leaves will soon begin to show the ef-
feet OF the treatment and recover the
green color. Sometimes badly affected
leaves turn brown soon after the treat
nent and may fall This condition is
temporary. as a rule. Plugging is appli-
cable TO all common fruit trees, having
been used successfully at the expert
ment station upon apple and pear trees
and upon grape vines and some shade
trees In a large majority OF cases
recovery is permanent-three seasons
Of observation show some treated trees
still 10 be normally green.
Spraying May Help.
The spraying of the foliage OF plants
with a l per cent solution OF the FER
rous sulphate OF iron viii give bene-
fetal results. though the recovery IS
not so marked as when trees are
plugged. Two applications may be nee
essary II the first is made early in the
season. since the new leaves appearing
after the spraying are usually yellow
Chlorosis is apt TO show the next sea
so- sfter using this treatment To give
hest results the spray must be very fine
SO as 10 wet the surface Of the leaf
uniformly"
From any one having chlorosis
r1s1ts 5sfs are requested as TO kind
sfected, extent, location, conditions OF
growtn. effect Of any treatments, and
other points that may give informa-
ton on this plant trouble