South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1921-03-25
MUST CUT COST OF
PRODUCTION And
INCREASE OUTPUT
Find Remedy For Eliminating
Disastrous Enemy of
Oat Crop.

St Joseph County Agriculture
Agent.

Agent.
with the lower price per bushel
for oats and corn on present and
future markets. the necessity Of cut
ting cost 81 production and raising
more bushels on a smaller area Us
an essential step towards Larger in
come. The worst enemy Of oat crop
s. oat smut II does not come In
termlttentIy as Hesian fly In the
wheat but Is usually present every
year ON the average IL per cent
Of the Indiana Oat crop IS lost from
smut ia fields sowed with INTERESTED
seed
Several years ago the practice OF
treating oats was given marked
attention by the majority Of farm
ers in ST. Joseph county. Than fol-
lowed a. decrease i'm oa1 smut, result
ing IN less attention 10 the uest-
ment Of the seed. Last season cat
smut was again more prevalent and
Indications now are that there VIII
be serious infestations Of Oat smut
IN St Joseph county.
Cause Of Dat Smut.
This disease is caused by a small
plant organism generally called a
fungus. 1t bears some relationship
TO the moulds OF bread Spreading
itself as 10 by the production OF
millions OF small dust ike bodies
contained in each smut head, IL
does not take long TO contaminate
whole fields Passing through the
separator at threshing time may
coat each kernel with large mum
hers OF these germs In the
spring when the grain IS planted
the smut bodies are planted Win
the oats. They terminate and
grow with the oat plant. The small
thread like mould penetrates the
young plant and grows and develops
with IL, all ready 10 attack the head
as soon as Il appears. These small
threads then penetrate the Oat ker-
nelg and change the meat of the oat
into a powdery mass of new germs
or spores Then this oat kernel
dries out and breaks and the smut Is
scattered By the wind and by the
threshing machine In sticking TO the
sound kernels. The following sea
son the same process occurs. So IN
the St. Joseph county seed eats Snat
have not been treated almost con-
tinuousIy, there is now a mass OF
these smut germs sticking TO the
kernels. waiting TO be planted with
the oats and grow and infect the
field as il natures. Smut heads are
usuarlv a total loss. The stalks are
sborted and smutted plants take
moro fertility from the soil than the
healthy plant for the smut must be
fed from the same source or plant
food as the oats plant itself.
The formaldehyde treatment is
the most satisfactory cure for oat
smut. Fresh formaldehyde should
be obtained each season. Two ways
OF mixing the formaldehyde with
water are I'm common use, the wet
and the dry method.
Method OF Mixing.
The wet method consists or mixing
with 40 gallons Of water-one pint
Of formaldehyde. One gallon of this
mixture will treat one and half
bushels OF oats. After spreading the
seed on tight board or cement floor
canvas. wagon box. or tank,
shrinking can is used and the oats
shoveled over as they are sprinhed.
The pile is then covered over for
two hours with disinfected sacks
rugs or blankets or canvas. IL is
safe with this method with oats to
leave the covering on over night.
Oats are sowed as soon as dry
enough. In order TO allow for the
swollen condition of the grain one
fifth more seed per acre should be
used.
The dry method IS more easily
accomplished. one pint Of formal
debvde is mixed with one pint of
water and sprayed on the oats with
a hand. or atomizer sprayer. one
Quart Of solution should treat 90
bushels OF oats. one man shoveling
as the other sprays This mixture
- very strong and disagreeable, be-
cause Of the large amount or gas
released. 1t is the oxygen released
by mixing fOrmaldehyde with water
That destroys smut All grain treat
cd with the dry treatment should be
shoveled I'm pile and covered for
five hours Then the grain may be
sOWn Immediately.
Another treatment midway be
tween the wet and dry treatment has
come into use recently. This equires
one pint Of formaidehyde 10 5 gal
Ions of water. TO be sprinkled with
sprinkliug can as one man shovels