750 Agricultural Gazette of N.S,W. [Sept. 2, 1908. 



Rust in our Fruit Crops. 



KDWIX CHKEL, 



Botanic (Jardens, Sylnev. 



The rapidity with which tlicsc piirasitic pests oi nur oichards uiiil i;ar(li'iis 

 are increasing, necessitates prompt and ethcient attention, to ))rev('nt the 

 further spread of these fungous diseases, and in tlie lio]»e that some united 

 effort may be taken to impress upon the minds of the growers the vast 

 destruction tliat is taking place eacli year among some of their most important 

 fi-uit crops, I feel it my duty to call attention to the ravages that is being 

 made through allow ing the unchrckcd sprea<l of tliese paia'^itic fungi. 



Peach rust (Puccinia Pnori spinosce, i'ers.). 



This is a disease which not only attacks our peach-trees, but also our plums, 

 apricots, nectarines, ajid almond trees. Tt was first discovered in Queensland, 

 in 188(), byMi'. H. Trvon, \\ 1k> foiwai-dcd the specimens to liarou \ on Mueller, 

 who communicated them to Di-. M. C. Cooke for determination. 



During the period from December, 1890, to April, 1894, Dr. N^. A. Cobb 

 published a sei-i.^s of "•Contributions to an tconomic knowleflge of Australian 

 Rusts," which may he found in this Gazette. In these writings. Dr. Cobb 

 records the discoverv of peach rust at Springwood, Pennant Hills, Kookwood, 

 and at North Shoic, near Syihiey. In Isyi, .\Ii-. D. McAljiine, Vegetable 

 Pathologist to the Department of Agriculture in Victoria, issued a special 

 report on this disease, whicli w.is published as "Bulletin \o. W." Tn is'.)."), 

 a further paper was published by ]\[r. McAlpiius which apj)ears in the 

 proceeflings of the Linnean Society of New .Soutli Wales of that year. 



In this latter paper excellent plates are given, showing tli(> s'ructure and 

 germinating jjowers of the Uredo and Teleut(» spores found u[ion iieadi. 

 nectarine, plum, apricot, and alniotid trees. 



In Mr. Mc.Mpine's paper attention is drawn to the s))r(>ad of this di.sease 

 in Victoria, as follows : — Goulbiu'u Valley, Murray to sea coast, and from 

 Kutherglen to Wangaratta. Spt'c-imens have also been collected in kiouth 

 Australia by Mr. J. G. O. Teppei-, who forwarded them to Mi-. McAlpine for 

 iflentification. 



Since the above i-ecords have been made, 1 have found this disease infesting 

 the aforesaid fruit-trees in Sydnc^y, Penshurst, and at (loulburn, and have 

 recorded their occurrence at these localities in the proceedings of tlie Tiiiuu'an 

 .Society of New South Wales for 1907. 



The most unfortunate ])art about these parasites is, that they are jturely 

 micro.scopic, and as such, are rarelv notice I by the grower-s, except by the 

 few who have been tiained to look foi' tlieni. When they are \isil)le to the 

 naked eye, on the upper and lowei' surface of the leaves, in the foim nf little 

 brownish colourefl pustules, the damage is then actuallv done, and thei-e is 

 little chance of trying to remedy the evil done at this period of t\w disease. 



