Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1917-10-31
Preventative FOR LETTUCE ROT
Mission Times.)

ffth 'NtN
announcement by the Michigan Agricul-
tural College that a preventative for let
iuee rot has ben discovered i made in a
bulletin issued by that Institution. Numer-
Gus tests with formaldehyde. according to
the statement issued i said 10 check the
disease to n large extent.
III the discovery i n success it will mean
q biz saving to Valley farmers who grow
large amounts of lettuce each year. The
Valley lettuce has won fame because of its
quality. but the occasional losses suffered
BY growers from lettuce rot. retarded n
full development of the industry.
Extracts from the bulletins. giving the
result of experiments made by a number
Of northern lettuce overs. are repro
duced.
A new method for controlling head let
tuce rot j. now undergoing tests and i'm
provement> at the Michigan Agricultural
College under the direction Of Ezra Levin.
specialist on crop diseases.
'"Growers Of head. lettuce in almost
every trucking section Of the country have
experienced severe losses from a shiny rot
of the inner leaves of the head called vari-
.ou~ly heart rot. bacteria rot. soft rot. black
rot. rot. etc. 4 rot of this type has been
30 serious in the New York lettuce ~ TO.
cause loss of carIiod after carload at the
great markets.
"In Michigan fields This disease has been
exceptionally important and loss Of 80 per
cent OF the crop are not The
disease i especially noteworthy because Of
the uncertainty of shipments in seasons
when il j. serious. This disease has made
head lettuce notorious for its perishable
nature IN transportation.
THE disease starts at the tips Of the
leaves. probably in the dead area. which
come AT theeedge of the older leaves. These
diseased areas Shrivel and curl and they
are marked off from the halthy tissu bv
q defInli" line. With the inner leaves tlre|
rot progress very deep in the head. turn
Ing these tender leaves into n soft slime
\ characteristic Of this rot i the deep in
Movement Of the inner leaves and the com
paraftvely small amount W rot of the outerI
caves. Gradually the whole head rotS.
III diseased plants in the early stages
and many times the disease j. hardly dis
cernahle-are shipped. the rot develops
quickly IN transit, especially in the boxes
~ the top Of the ear. In q visit to the Chi
eaeo market. one day in August. 1916. II
was unable to find Il single box Of %letturpl
which dad not show som plants with un-
signs Of this trouble.
I'm July last year the disease was doing
great damage IN the muck soils near Raw
Fort, Mich. Acting on the idea that di-
luted formaldehyde might exert n favirable
action, Mr.. Levin suggested
mat The plants already noticeable diseased
ne sprayed with ~formaldehyde. one pound
m 20 gallons Of water.
sc. Reid. Of Bay Port. immediately an
Piled the formaldehyde with n small bandI
a. directed and secured excellent
result. Since the weather had changed
from hot To very cold. It was thought
possible mai the weather wao responsible
Tor The checking of the loss. The check
Q were not entirely decisive.
The tests carried on the present season
seem 10 remove all doubts of the snecificI
value Of the spraying. This wear DURING
an EXTREMITY cold period the disease again
became serious. Mr.. Reid resorted to the
iormaldehyde treatment with gratifying re-
suits.
y neighbor. seeing the favorable results
y me tests, sprayed q portion Of his patch
ana saved the bulk of the lettuce ON the
prayed portion while the unspraycd por-
non was a failure. Unsnrayed lettuce in
me adjoining fields was almost n total loss.
Further work is now in progress nj The
Michigan Experiment Station on this dis
ease, but the success Of these control
coupled with the great losses
now beng met with from this disease.
prompts this preliminary report on this new
of preventian," said Mr.. Levin. who
hopes thai the "cure' will be given n careful
rial by rover
The married woman who j. not Sure of,
her own charms Should emnIov , ,Io;,l