lot which was kept in a warm, dry room before treating. These results indicate that 

 cornnels kept in a warm, dry room generally withstand the hot -water treatment better 

 than cormels kept in the cool, moist atmosphere of a commercial warehouse. 



In six of the varieties both lots of Emmi -treated cormels produced more rot- 

 free cor ms than any of the hot-water -treated lots. Also, Emmi -treated lots produced 

 more diseased corms than the hot-water -treated lots. The hot-water treatment re- 

 duced the amount of disease, but it also reduced germination of the cormels. 



In seven of the nine varieties cormels given the cold Ennmi treatment pro- 

 duced more rot-free corms than did the cormels given the warm Emmi treatment. 

 In the varieties Benjamin Britten and Elizabeth the Queen more rot-free corms were 

 obtained from cormels given the warm Emmi treatment than from cormels given the 

 cold Emmi treatment. 



In another experiment the hot -water treatment was compared with cold and 

 warm Emmi treatments on cormels of six gladiolus varieties. The following treat- 

 ments were used on each variety: (1) hot water at 135 degrees F. for 30 minutes; 

 (2) Emmi 1:400 at 50-54 degrees F, for 2 1/3 hours; (3) Emmi 1:400 at 105 degrees 

 F. for 2 hours; (4) untreated check. 



The cormels of each variety were divided into four equal parts by volume. 

 No attennpt was made touse the same number of cornnels for all varieties. The hot- 

 water treatments were made on December 19, 1957; the treated cormels were then 

 dried and stored at 40 degrees F. until 1 week before planting. The Emmi treatments 

 were made on May 8, 1958, the day all the cormels were planted. 



Results of this experiment are shown in figs. 7 and 8. In five of the six va- 

 rieties more rot -free corms were obtainedfrom cornnels given the Emmi treatments 

 than from cormels given the hot-water treatments. The hot-water treatments were 

 superior to the Emmi treatnnents only in the variety Leif Ericson. In three of the va- 

 rieties more rot-free corms were obtained fronn cormels treated inwarnn Emmi than 

 from cormels treated in cold Emmi. In the other three varieties the reverse was 

 true. In five of the six varieties the least annount of disease was found incornns pro- 

 duced fronn cornnels that had received the hot-water treatment. 



DISCUSSION 



From the results obtained in the experinnents reported here, it may be con- 

 cluded that the hot-water treatment can be used beneficially on Illinois -grown cornn- 

 els under certain conditions. The hot-water treatment will eliminate Fusarium and 

 Curvularia fronn a stock of cornnels to a greater extent than will a chennical treatnnent. 

 However, the hot-water treatment may reduce corm yields sonnuch that the value of 

 the treatment becomes questionable. Use of a chemical treatnnent, while not reducing 

 the annount of disease percentagewise as much as the hot-water treatment, generally 

 will result in a greater yield of rot-free cornns than would be obtained with the hot- 

 water treatment. The hot-water treatment nnight be of greatest benefit in cleaning 

 up a badly diseased lot of cornnels to give the grower a new start with a snnal I annount 

 of relatively disease -free planting stock. 



The results of experinnents in which cormels were treated indifferent nnonths 

 indicated that, in general, the safest time to use a hot-water treatment on Illinois- 

 grown cornnels is in January. Other experiments showed that storage conditions be- 

 fore treatment greatly affect the results of the hot-water treatment. Because corm- 



10 



