INSTITUTE, PUSA, FOR 1916-17 63 



Miyake as parasitic on leaf sheaths of paddy in Japan. 

 This fungus has been obtained in culture and successful 

 inoculations in Pusa have succeeded in producing the typi- 

 cal leaf spots. Further research is in progress to determine 

 the method of parasitism and the extent of damage result- 

 ing to crops. 



Several other sclerotial diseases of minor importance 

 were observed during the year, among which the most seri- 

 ous were an attack of Rhizoctonia destruens, Tass. upon 

 wheat and lentil {Lens esculent a) in Burma, and a collar 

 rot of lemon seedlings at Nagpur caused by an unidentified 

 species of this genus, which is also parasitic upon chilli and 

 Hibiscus in Pusa. All of these fungi have been obtained 

 in pure culture and are being studied. 



(5) Anthracnose of chilli and pulses. The serious 

 disease of chillies in Bihar, referred to C olletotrichum 

 nigrum E. and Hals, in last year's report, has been found to 

 be due to an allied but distinct fungus V ermicularia 

 Capsici, Syd. The former is a North American fungus 

 and was found to be different from the Bihar species on 

 comparison by the mycologists of the United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, who have, as usual, given us every 

 assistance. Subsequently the true C olletotrichum nigrum 

 was found in Burmese specimens, while a third form, 

 Glomerella (Gloeosporium) piperata, S. & v. S. occurs 

 sporadically throughout India. It appears to be better to 

 restrict the term anthracnose to these two last-named 

 (possibly only different forms of the same fungus) and to 

 call the disease caused by V ermicularia " die-back/' from its 

 most prominent symptom, the withering back of the top 

 shoots of the plant. Mr. Dastur has carried out a more 

 detailed study of " die-back," which it is hoped to publish 

 during the coming year. Meanwhile experiments in its 

 treatment are in progress. The results anticipated from 

 the seed selection referred to in last year's report have not 

 materialised : disease was almost as severe in the plot grown 

 from selected as in that from non-selected seed and it is 

 evident that the fungus does not rely on seed-infection to 



