130 ILLINOIS STATE ACADEMY OF .SCIENCE 



NOTES ON NEW DISEASES OF ECONOMIC CROPS 

 IN ILLINOIS. 1919-1921 



H. W. Anderson, Unxversity of Illinois 



The presence of new diseases among onr economic 

 crops is a matter of grave concern to the agricultural 

 interests of the state. Having found these new diseases, 

 the question at once arises as to their importance and 

 what measures should be taken to control them. We are 

 far too careless today in the matter of protecting our 

 crops by careful inspection and quarantine, and as a 

 result of this carelessness, due in a large measure to lack 

 of foresight of the growers themselves, there have been 

 introduced into the state many destructive diseases 

 which add to the already heavy toll taken by crop pests. 

 The lack of interest due to ignorance concerning the 

 nature of fungus and bacterial parasites makes the task 

 of the plant pathologist all the harder when an effort 

 is made to restrict these diseases. When a new insect 

 is discovered making inroads, there is no lack of pub- 

 licity to excite and alarm the grower. But the publicity 

 given to fungus diseases is so pitifully inadequate that 

 no extensive program of eradication or control can be 

 successfully carried out. 



No systematic survey has been made of economic crops 

 to determine what new diseases occur in the state. The 

 few new diseases here recorded have been more or less 

 accidental discoveries. No doubt some of these have 

 been present for a number of years and there is little 

 question but that many have been overlooked. It is 

 hoped that the newly organized Plant Disease Survej^ of 

 the state may bring to light many more such observa- 

 tions as are embodied in this publication. The recent 

 accidental discovery of flag smut of wheat in Madison 

 and St. Clair counties is not described in these pages 

 since adequate publicity has already been given this 

 disease. The facts concerning the discovery of this di- 

 sease, however, are of interest because of the value which 

 a very minor survey operation may have. In the spring 

 of 1919 while examining the wheat fields near Granite 



