DISEASES DUE TO FUNGI 115 
Spraying the bottom trusses and soil with this compound 
may also be performed if the disease becomes serious. 
Trusses touching the soil should be staked or tied up 
- go as to keep them as far off the ground as possible. 
It is also advisable to remove some of the bottom leaves 
from all plants to allow the air to circulate freely and so 
keep the fruit as dry as possible. All diseased fruit 
should be removed at once and burned. 
As the infection may be introduced by a contaminated 
water supply, only clean water should be used. 
Rhizoctonia Fruit Rot of the Tomato.—This rot, caused 
by Rhizoctonia solani, is similar in appearance to “‘ Buck- 
eye rot,” but the zone lines are much closer together, 
and the affected portions are sunken. It is by no means 
as common as “buckeye rot,” and can be controlled 
by similar methods. 
Botrytis Rot of Tomato Fruits—Towards the end of 
the season, especially in unheated houses, which lie cold 
and damp in consequence, a soft rot of green tomato 
fruits due to a species of Botrytis is frequently found. 
Such fruits become soft water-bags, which for a time show 
no signs of fungal growth and no apparent wound through 
which infection has taken place. The first sign of the 
disease is the appearance of a pale, water-soaked area, 
which is not confined to any particular part of the 
surface, although frequently it occurs at the blossom 
end, and indicates a probable infection through the 
style in such cases. The affected area increases in size 
until the whole fruit is involved, and ultimately the fungus 
grows out into the air, when the fruits become covered 
with a typical grey, velvety mould of Botrytis. Not 
infrequently infection takes place at the calyx end, 
when the ensuing rot causes the fruit to fall to the ground. 
Infection is easily produced by means of wounds, 
but the fact that a diseased fruit will infect an adjacent 
healthy fruit which it touches, indicates that under 
