THE SOFT EOT OF CELERY 



149 



The Soft Rot of Celery 



The central portions of celery plants are frequently 

 attacked by a disease which causes what growers call the 



^^soft rot." A portion of a plant 

 so affected is represented in Fig. 

 64. This appears to be due to 

 minute bacteria. It esj^ecially 

 attacks plants banked or stored in 

 wet places, and sometimes causes 

 serious losses. Golden sorts ap- 

 pear to be most liable to the mal- 

 ady. Dr. Halsted advises, as a 

 preventive, keeping celery dry or 

 placing it under pure water. His 

 discussion is found in the 1892 

 report of the Jew Nersey Experi- 

 ment Station. The injury of this 

 malady is not confined to the core. 

 The leaves are also affected ; they 

 become spotted with brown, the 

 spots often having the watery ap- 

 pearance that bacterial blights 

 are likely to produce. Instances 

 are on record in which large crops 

 have been ruined by this disease. 



FIG. 64. SOFT ROT OF '^ i , .1 



cEi^ERY. It seems quite possible that the 



bacteria causing this malady are the same as the ones 

 causing tomato and potato blight and similar diseases. 



