47 



shelled nuts in any process of shelling, and is of course 

 still more abundant if unshelled nuts are planted. 



Experiments made on sandy land on the farm of the 

 Alabama Experiment Station, at Auburn, showed no 

 increase in yield from inoculating peanuts with appro- 

 priate soil, and no apparent increase in the number 

 of tubercles per plant. 



Diseases of Peanuts. 



Leaf spot, which appears as a small, brown spot on 

 the leaves and stems, is caused by a fungus dis- 

 ease (Cercospora personata). It usually attacks the 

 grown leaves, though it may attack the young ones 

 causing them to fall off, thereby reducing the value of 

 the hay and the yield of peanuts. 



This leaf spot fungus may be carried from one year 

 to the next on old peanut leaves and stems. Crop 

 rotation and plowing under all old vines and stems 

 are, therefore, recommended as good farm practice 

 to lessen the amount of the disease in a succeeding 

 peanut crop. 



Sclerotial rot, (caused by Sclerotiiim Rolfsii) attacks 

 the roots and peas, and destroys the pods. The top 

 of the plant may be healthy in appearance, but when 

 it is pulled up, many of its pods may be found com- 

 pletely rotten. The rotten pods may appear wet or 

 dry, as other organisms of decay may have become 

 associated with the decayed nuts. 



No means of combatting sclerotial rot is known. 



Red rot attacks the pods of the peanut and causes 

 them to appear brown or reddish. The crop should 

 be dug as soon as it matures to avoid loss from this 

 disease. (See Alabama Station Bulletin No. 180). 



Average Yield of Peanuts. 



According to figures furnished by the Bureau of 



Crop Estimates of the United States Department of 



Agriculture, the average yield of peanuts for the 



United States for the past five years has been 38.6 



bushels per acre. For the same period, the Southern 



States averaged as follows: 



State Bushels State Bushels 



North Carolina ..42 Alabama 37 



South Carolina 45 ■ Louisiana __ -.32 



Georgia _.40 Mississippi ..34 



Florida ...36 Texas ..33 



Tennessee 48 Oklahoma 38 



