Oct. 2, 1920.] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 739 



tide the plant over the shock of removal and to enable it to put forth roots 

 in its new abode. Suckers with fioor bulbs and trunks of uniform i;irth 

 should be rejected, and those with good bulbs and tapering trunks, or as 

 .some describe them " bottle-shaped," should be preferred. In this way 

 vigorous plants will be obtained that will make the best of the soil and 

 weather conditions. 



One of the most vigoi'ous plants of all, of course, is produced from the old 

 butt from which all but one or two eyes have been pruned away. This gi\ es 

 the young plant plenty of food, and enables it to overtake larger suckers and 

 to produce a larger and better bunch, and at a time when prices nre good. 

 Let it be repeated, however — do not split your butts into small pieces making 

 four or six sets or slips, for how then can you get vigour, and how can the 

 plant resist the intrusion of disease with such an extensive cut surface ? 



Selection for Disease Resistance. 



If the suggestions made above are adopted the grower will plant few 

 diseased bulbs. There is still a chance, however, that suckers will be planted 

 that are not free from root disease, for once introduced into a plantation it 

 can never be eradicated. The grower requires to be extremely careful, there- 

 fore, that he does not permit it to come into new areas with his plants. 

 Fortunately its presence in a sucker can be readily discerned by examining 

 the butt. If the butt is cut across with a sharp knife reddish pin spots will 

 be noticed — an unfailing indication of the presence of root disease. Some- 

 times, if 'the disease is very marked, it will be found that the rot of the roots 

 has extended fully half an inch into the bulb itself. If, therefore, these 

 symptoms are found in any of the suckers in a field, all suckers in that tield 

 should be rejected for the purposes of planting a new area. 



Again, beetle borer may be present in a plantation. All suckers intended 

 for planting should be examined to discover whether they show any sign of 

 a hole — -in fact, thin slices may be removed from the outside of the bulbs, and 

 if holes are found with material resembling sawdust in them it may reason- 

 ably be supposed that the borer is present, and that no plants from the 

 plantation should be used in setting out a new area ; at any rate, an officer 

 of the Department should be asked to make an examination. 



Nematodes are the curse of plantations not on basfiltic soils. They 

 manifest themselves by gall-like swellings or nodules on the roots and by 

 red discolorations that are seen when the roots are split along the length. 

 If these pests are present all suckers shouid be carefully freed fr im soil and 

 all roots absolutely pruned off to the bulb. The bulbs should then be -oaked 

 for at least two hours in a solution of corrosive sublimate. The str^-ngth of 

 the solution should be 1 to 1,000 — or 1 ounce corrosive sublimate to G| gallons 

 of water — and it should be contained in a wooden vessel. The mixture is 

 cheap (the corrosive sublimate is about Is. per ounce) and it may l)e used 

 over and over again so long as there is suiBcient fluid left to cover the bulbs 

 properly. As corrosive sublimate is a deadly poison it must be handled 

 with care, and troughs containing the solution must be covered. No harm 



