354 



THE FARMERS* HANDBOOK. 



Plant attacked 



by Foot Rot always seem to be more susceptible 



to leaf affections than healthy plants growing alongside, such fungi as 



Septoria, Erysiphe (mildew), and 

 the 



rusts ( Piiccinia spp. ) 

 found on the flag and straw. 



being 



Infection takes place in the soil. 

 Stubble and refuse from a diseased 

 crop harbour the disease, and enable 

 it to carry over in the soil from 

 year to year. 



Weather conditions will always 

 be a great factor in determining 

 the prevalence of the disease or 

 otherwise. Our experience in 1920 

 indicates that in a good season 

 following a long drought, wheat 

 should be relatively free from Foot 

 Rot disease, whereas seasons like 

 1921 (the second of two relatively 

 wet years) will prove favourable 

 for its development. 



Control. — To avoid, as well as 

 to control the disease in paddocks 

 where it is already in evidence, the 

 following suggestions are made : — 



( 1 ) Adoption of some form of 

 rotation in place of the methods 

 of continuous cropping with wheat,, 

 which are far too general in our 

 farming districts. Investigation 

 shows that the Foot Rot disease 

 has been worst in paddocks which 

 have been continuously cropped 

 to wheat. While the fact that 

 the fungus may possibly live on 

 other cereals — oats and barley, and' 

 more particularly the latter — makes 

 the planning of a suitable rotation 

 difficult in most of our wheat dis- 

 tricts, some immediate alteration 

 in routine is necessary where this 

 disease appears. Whex-e, as in the 

 north-west, it is possible to grow 

 summer crops like maize, it is de- 

 sirable to rotate them with wheat. 



The clean cultivation given to the summer crop cleans the land of weeds 



and grasses on which the fungus can live. 



(2) Use of Bare fallow. — Weeds like barley grass should be removed by 

 cultivation. Feeding off with sheep, while it keeps down the growth, does 

 not remove the butts of the grasses on which the fungus can live. Bare 

 fallow should starve the fungus out. 



Fig. 21. 



Bearded Gluyas affected with Foot Rot and 

 a Healthy Plant. 



