Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1926-01-28
GRAIN SMUT MENACE
SERIOUS, SAY LEADERS
CITING HUGE LOSSES
Agricultural Colleges, Z. S. De-
partment of Agriculture,
Farm Bureau Among Co
operating Agencies.

Sinking Smut is more than an
odor, declare competent agricul-
.tural authorities. It is a menace
to the prosperity of the North
west this year. Smut losses of
SIS, 100000 were sustained by the
Northwest in 1925. Unless the
menace is checked this will seem
trivial besides the losses which
will be incurred in 1926.
There is only one sure proven
1 tive all authorities agree the
treating of grain seed. If pro-
per measures are adopted before
spring planting, the threatened
disaster to the 1926 crop will be
averted.
Grain Smut Prevention meth
DDS are being advocated by rep
resentatives of the colleges of
Agriculture, and the u. S. De-
partment of Agriculture. The
Northwest Grain Smut Proven
| ton Committee, with headquar-
tiers in the offices of the Mime
apolis Civic & Commerce Associa-
ton, has been formed to back up
the work of these agricultural
LEADERS and to do everything pos
sible to impress upon the North
west the necessity of treating
| grain seed this wear.
Every dollar a farmer invests
in the treatment of seed to kill
smut will return him a profit of
$1,000, says Professor A. N.
Hume of the South Dakota Agri-
cultural College. South Dako-
ia alone lost at least $1,O0O,OOO
last year through the ravages
caused by smut.
.Seventy-five per cent of the
wheat brought to- one country
elevator was badly smutted" Z,
says DR.. E. C. Stakman, plant
pathologist, College of Agricul-
ture, University of Minnesota.
THE percentage of heads de-
stroyed by smut ranges from 10
to 500. This means, of course,
a corresponding reduction in
yield. The loss on account of
ksmut on small grains in Minneso-
ia ranges from 100000 to
$1,000, 900 annually"
1.-The Northwest is in need of
| information relative to damages
sustained by grain smut last year
in order to decrease the ravages
of this menace, said Professor
III. L. Bolley of the North Da-
kota Agricultural College.
Seven thousand, one hundred
eighty cars of durum wheat, or
] 27@o of the amount received at
the terminals in Minneapolis and
Duluth during a period of two
and one-half months in 1925
showed smut notations. Two
thousand eighteen cars of bread
| wheat arrived at the terminal
with smut notations put on by
the State inspectors, said R. P.
| Woodwork, chairman of the
Northwest Grain Smut Proven
ton Committee.
1T is safe to assume that the
loss sustained on wheat and
| durum shipped to terminal mar
kets during the current market
/ ing season will approximate
$4,000, 900. Many districts es-
capped serious damage this year,
/ but grain smut is so easily
carried from one district to an
other, that immunity, or slight
damage in 1925 gives no indica-
ton of what may happen this
year. No chances should be
taken on this years CROP.
The educational work of the
Smut Prevention Campaign will
be conducted by colleges of agrl-
culture of states concerned, the
Northwest Grain Smut Pre-
vention Committee, under whose
direction the campaign was orig
mated, having been organized
merely for the purpose of aiding
the colleges in this campaign.
An advisory committee has
been appointed composed of DIR.
E. C. Stakman, plant patholo-
gist, and R. C. Rose, extension
agronomist, University of Min
nesota; H. O. Walster, Dean of
the North Dakota Agricultural
college, and N. D. German,
county agent leader for North
Dakota, both of Fargo; DR.. N.
/ A. Hume, agronomist and Ralph
Johnston, extension a2ronomist
| of the Montana College of Agri-
culture, Bozeman; and r. H.
Black, marketing specialist, u. S.
Department of Agriculture.
This committee has mapped
out a plan by which full informa-
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