•302 



of seed treatment recommended tor loose smut of wheat will be found 

 eflFective. (See pp. lSo-186.) 



Covered Smut 



Caused b\- Ustilago hordci (Pers.) K. & S. 



This disease, which is hardly distinguishable from loose smut in the 

 field, has been found in Illinois once only. C. L. Porter collected it at 

 Galena. Jo Daviess county, July 26. 1922. There was very little infec- 

 tion found, and the damage was slight. Probably this disease is much 

 more wide-spread. 



Barley Stripe 



Caused by H dminthosporiuin gram'mcuui Rab. 



Stripe is next to smut the most serious disease of barley, and causes 

 hea\T losses each year. Its appearance is so characteristic as hardly to 

 allow of its being mistaken. The leaves of diseased plants show wide 

 longitudinal stripes in^which the green has turned yellowish or brown. 

 Diseased plants are dwarfed, die early, and rarely produce well-filled 

 heads. 



It is known to occur in 5 counties, as shown on Map 33, but is prob- 

 ably more generally distributed. 



Its serious nature is apparent from 9 fields examined in H<23, in 

 which an average of 31 per cent of the plants were diseased. 



Stripe is readily controlled by means of a "wet" formalin seed treat- 

 ment. The formalin is diluted at the rate of 1 pint to 30 gallons of 

 water. The solution is then thoroughly mixed with the seed. After 

 being covered for two hours the seed is ready for sowing. 



Diseases of Forage Crops 



During ten years preceding 1923, the tame hay acreage in Illinois 

 averaged 2.9T 0.000 acres, yielding annually an average of 3,S08,000 tons, 

 valued at -$60,790,000. All parts of the state have large acreages de- 

 voted to hay and the other forage crops. The state total of 3.645,000 

 acres for 1922 is more than 14 times that devoted to rye, nearly 20 times 

 that devoted to barley, only 200.000 acres less than that devoted to oats, 

 22 times that devoted to spring wheat, 600.000 acres more than winter 

 wheat, and more than one-third of the corn acreage. 



Among the crops that go to make up this acreage are especially 

 alfalfa, clover, timothy, and redtop. Each crop is subject to the attack 

 of diseases which reduce either the yield, the value, or the quality of the 

 crop to a greater or less extent. 



