10 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURItT 



January, 1913 



The Far North Weitern Part of Ontario showed what it can do in the Production of High Grade Potatoes, when it made 

 This Exhibit at the recent Ontario Horticultural Exhibition, in Toronto 



Diseases of Ginseng' 



Prof. J. E. Howitt, O, 



GINSENG has been cultivated only 

 during the last twenty or twenty- 

 five years. The early ginseng 

 growers were little troubled by diseases. 

 During the last few years, however, a 

 remarkable development in the number 

 and severity of ginseng diseases has tak- 

 en place. There are now recorded some 

 fifteen more or less serious diseases of 

 ginseng. Now, much of the success of 

 the ginseng grower depends upon his 

 ability to prevent disease. 



In Ontario there are four serious dis- 

 eases of ginseng, namely, blight or alter- 

 nario blight, rust, fibre rot or end rot, 

 damping off of seedlings and wet rot. All 

 these diseases, except the last named, 

 are fungus diseases, that is they are 

 caused by minute plants termed fungi, 

 which live upon the ginseng plants and 

 obtain their food from them. In so do- 

 ing they injure the ginseng plants and 

 produce disease. The question is often 

 asked, from whence come all these fun- 

 gus diseases, and why have they be- 

 come -SO serious to cultivated ginseng. 

 This question is best answered by com- 

 paring the conditions under which gin- 

 seng grows wild and the conditions un- 

 der which it is grown in cultivation. 



NATURAL OONDITIONB 

 Ginseng is found growing wild in rich, 

 moist, well drained soils of hillsides and 

 ravines covered by deciduous trees where 



•Firtra<5t from aji addresn deliT*red last S«i>- 

 ten^her b**for^ fho nnnnal oonv**ntion of th© On- 

 tario Gjnsenff Growers' Afleociation. 



A. C, Guclph, Ont. 



each fall it receives an abundant mulch 

 of forest leaves. In cultivation the gin- 

 seng plants are crowded together ; very 

 frequently the ginseng beds are not pro- 

 perly underdrained and too often the soil 

 is improperly fertilized so that it loses 

 the acid condition characteristic of for- 

 est soils in which ginseng naturally 

 grows, and becomes alkaline. 



From this brief comparison, it is seen 

 that the chief factors which account for 

 the increase and severity of fungus dis- 

 eases under cultivation are : First, crowd- 

 ing the plants together in the ginseng 

 beds so that the spores of disease-pro- 

 ducing fungi are readily dispersed from 

 plant to plant by wind, water and in- 

 sects. In nature the plants are separat- 

 ed by hills and trees and other plants, 

 so that the fungus spores are not readily 

 distributed from one ginseng plant to 

 another. Second, the lack of proper un- 

 derdrainage ; too often the grower de- 

 pends upon the natural slope of the land 

 or the character of the soil for drainage, 

 forgetting that in the woods, where gin- 

 seng grows wild, the trees pump up from 

 the soil the excess of moisture. Third, 

 the change from an acid to an alkaline 

 condition of the soil, due very often to 

 the application of unsuitable fertilizers. 



Prevention is the watchword in deal- 

 ing with all kinds of fungus diseases. It 

 is, therefore, important that the ginseng 

 growers should endeavor to do away as 

 far as possible with the conditions which 



under cultivation favor the development 

 and spread of fungus diseases. 



Drainage is absolutely essential if the 

 best results are to be obtained. Open 

 drains cannot be depended upon. Gin- 

 seng beds should be tile-drained. Three- 

 inch tiles are satisfactory for this pur- 

 pose ; the depth at which these are placed 

 will depend upon the character of the 

 soil. In sandy or gravelly soil they 

 should be placed from three to four feet 

 deep, while in heavy clay soils not more 

 than one and a half or two feet deep. 



The lines of tile should be placed from 

 six to eight feet apart and when possible 

 the drains should be placed in the centre 

 of the ginseng beds. Too many grow- 

 ers depend upon the natural slope of the 

 land or the character of the soil for drain- 

 age. 



FERTILIZERS FOR GINSENG 



Much depends upon the applying and 

 the proper kinds of fertilizers to the 

 ginseng beds. If unsuitable fertilizers 

 are applied, rust or fibre rot soon makes 

 its appearance. Lime and wood ashes 

 were for a number of years frequently 

 used as fertilizers upon ginseng beds. 

 The result was that the soil became alka- 

 line and this alkaline condition favored 

 the growth and development of the fun- 

 gus which produced rust or fibre rot. 

 Consequently this disease became very 

 serious in ginseng beds which had been 

 fertilized with lime or wood ashes. Lime 

 or wood ashes are not to be recommend- 

 ed as fertilizers for ginseng. 



Acid phosphate (treated rock or bone) 

 is a satisfactory fertilizer for ginseng. 



