26 HISTOEY AND CAUSE OF THE COCONUT BUD-EOT. 



the diseased trees, so that Mr. Barrett's conception of these maladies 

 is uncertain. 



Dr. A. Fredholni presented before the agricultural society an article 

 published in March, 1909.^ He described a serious disease in which 

 the trunk was normal and the roots usually so, while the terminal 

 bud became disintegrated into a sour-smellmg, whitish, semifluid 

 mass, which, when examined under the microscope, was seen to be 

 swarming with bacteria. The adjacent tissues, out to the petiole 

 bases, were traversed by fungous mycelium which Dr. Fredholm 

 believed to be the forerunner of the bacterial rot. He states that he 

 considers Stockdale's root disease and the foregoing disease distinct, 

 chiefly for the reason that he has never found the decay of the roots 

 and the discolored stems present in the affected trees which he exam- 

 ined. He further states that he found a few cases of what was sup- 

 posedly bud-rot, i. e., a putrid terminal bud full of bacteria and 

 entirely lacking fungi. To substantiate his statements Dr. Fredholm 

 obtained successful fungous infections (small spots), but he made no 

 bacterial inoculations. 



^Nlr. J. B. Rorer, formerly of the Laboratory of Plant Pathology, 

 United States Department of Agriculture, has been mycologist of the 

 Trinidad department of agriculture since early in 1909. Along with 

 his other work Mr. Rorer has devoted some time to the coconut dis- 

 eases and has given much attention to clearing out and destroying 

 all diseased trees \\dthout waiting to ascertain the cause of the trouble. 

 He is, however, investigating the nature of the various coconut dis- 

 eases on the island, and writes the author as follows in a letter of June 

 6, 1910: 



So far I have cut down nearly 10,000 trees all told. There is no question as to the 

 fact that bud-rot is present here, and my main object is to keep it from spreading, as I 

 think it much more contagious than the other diseases. It has killed many trees at 

 Toco and Laventille and is scattered all about the southern part of the island, but there 

 is no doubt that from Iron Forest to Cedros the root disease has done much more dam- 

 age — whether bud-rot helps it out is another question. * * * From what I have 

 seen at Cedros the root disease seems to be distinct, and the trees may die from it, 

 even if the bud is not affected. The roots are well rotted before the tree shows much 

 sign of disease. One of the main points to be determined, it seems to me, is whether 

 or not the true bud-rot organism is present in the rotting buds of root-sick trees. 



As early as 1875 and 1876 Hon. William Russell reported to the 

 Kew Gardens, England, that considerable damage was being done to 

 the coconut trees in British Guiana. Outside of a few notes in local 

 newspapers there have been few other reports of this disease until 

 recently. In 1906 material was sent from Georgetown to Barbados 

 to be examined by the mycologist of the Imperial Department of Agri- 



» Fredholm, A. Diplodia Disease of the Coconut Palm (Society paper 367). Proceedings of the Agri- 

 cultural Society of Trinidad and Tobago, vol. 9, pt. 3, March, 1909, pp. 159-172. 



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