64 SCIENTIFIC REPORTS OF THE AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH 



secure its perpetuation. Fortunately it seems that control 

 by spraying will be relatively easy and a detailed series of 

 experiments has been laid down to test spraying during 

 the present season. 



The same V ermicularia has been found to be one of the 

 causes of a disease of various pulses, such as cowpea and 

 Dolichos, and of Sclanaceous plants, such as tomato and 

 brinjal. As in chillies, it has been previously confused with 

 the anthracnoses of these crops, but it seems to be of rela- 

 tively minor importance on these hosts. It has not yet 

 been recorded outside India, except in the Philippines. 



(6) " Tikka M disease of groundnut. An outbreak of 

 this disease on the Ranehi Farm was investigated. The soil 

 of this farm is singular in being almost devoid of sulphur, 

 and is also markedly deficient in phosphorus. It appears 

 from analyses carried out in Bombay that groundnuts, 

 require relatively large quantities of the latter constituent, 

 and as the nuts mature there would seem to be a heavy drain 

 on the phosphates of the soil. It was observed by 

 Mr. Dobbs, Deputy Director of Agriculture, Bihar and 

 Orissa, that at this period the disease set in and developed 

 with great intensity. Experiments have been arranged by 

 Mr. Dobbs this season to test the view provisionally arrived 

 at that ''tikka" disease may be symptomatic of deficiency in 

 available phosphates, in other words may be a deficiency 

 disease similar to jute Rhizoctonia as described above. 



(7) Sal tree disease. The investigation on the root 

 rot of the sal tree was continued by Dr. Shaw during the 

 year, efforts being principally directed towards completing 

 the life history of the fungus in artificial culture and estab- 

 lishing its parasitism upon the sal by means of direct infec- 

 tions. With this latter object, a series of inoculations was 

 carried out in June, 1916, at Rajabhatkhawa and in August, 

 1916, at Dehra Dun. The inoculations at Rajabhatkhawa 

 were examined in December last and failed to yield conclu- 

 sive results. In the case of one of the trees which had been 

 infected with cultures of Polyporus Shorece, the disease 

 was found to be well established, but it was obvious that this. 



