58 



PINK DISEASE OF PLANTATION RUBBER. 



By F. T. BROOKS, M.A. 



(Senior Demonstrator of Botany, Cambridge University, and formerly 

 Government Mycologist, Federated Malay States), 



and A. SHARPLES, A.R.C.S. 



(Assistant Mycologist, Federated Malay States). 



(With Plates XVI and XVII and 11 Text-figures.) 



Introduction. 



There has been a considerable development of Pink Disease in 

 Malayan rubber estates since 1912 and at the present time it is the 

 disease which requires the greatest amount of attention in many 

 districts. We have seen several estates in which 10 per cent, of the 

 trees were affected and in a few neglected plantations in parts of the 

 country where the disease was bad no less than 25 per cent, were 

 attacked. During 1914 an opportunity was given us of investigating 

 this disease in detail especially as regards plantation rubber and the 

 present paper embodies the chief results of this investigation. Other 

 information about the disease, which is of interest only to planters, is 

 included by us (4) in Bulletin 21 of the Department of Agriculture, 

 Federated Malay States. 



Distribution and Hosts. 



Pink Disease is caused by a fungus which was named Cortiduwi 

 javanicum in 1901 by Zimmermann (17) who investigated it in Java 

 with special reference to coffee, but Petch (9) points out that the same 

 fungus had been named Corticium salmonicolor by Berkeley and Broome 

 many years before from material obtained in Ceylon, hence the latter- 

 name has the right of priority. 



In 1897 Ridley (11) reported the presence of a disease of coffee in 

 Selangor caused by a fungus with pink spore masses, which was named 



