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THE FARMERS HANDBOOK. 



Spraying with Bordeaux mixture will help to keep the disease in check. 

 Some members of the pumpkin family, for instance the water-melon, have 



rather delicate foliage, and under 

 these circumstances a weak Bordeaux 

 mixture, with a large amount of 

 lime, shculd be used to prevent 

 burning of the foliage. A Bordeaux 

 mixture made by using 3 lb. of copper 

 sulphate and 8 lb. of lime and 50 

 gallons of water (3 — 8 — 50) should 

 be satisfactory. 



Wilt. 



Some members of the pumpkin 

 family are subject to a wilt disease 

 due to different species of fungus — 

 Fusarium. As the name implies, 

 plants suddenly droop or wilt and 

 die. Plants adjacent to infected 

 vines rapidly follow. On removing 

 a dead plant, its roots are found to 

 be sound, with the exception of dull, 

 yellow colour, which the exterior 

 exhibits. The causal fungus invades 

 the sap-conducting vessels, ultimately 

 choking them and cutting off the 

 flow of moisture. 



As the fungus works in the in- 

 terior of the plant, spraying will 

 not control it, and, as the fungus 

 lives over in the soil, rotation of 

 crops is the only practical method 

 of control. Plants suffering from 

 wilt should never be ploughed under, 

 Anthracnose of Rock Melon, due to Gloeosportum sp. but pulled out, dried, and burned. 



Insect Pests.* 



Pumpkins, melons, cucumbers, and related plants have their share of 

 pests and diseases, but the most destructive are the leaf-eating beetles. 



The Banded Pumpkin Beetle. 



This beetle (Aulocophora olivieri) is particularly destructive, being per- 

 haps the worst of all leaf -eaters that attacks garden crops. It usually makes 

 its appearance just as the plants have made a good start, and if the season 

 be favourable the infestation becomes so serious that the whole bed will 

 soon be destroyed unless steps be taken to prevent it. Fortunately, the 

 beetles are not often so numerous as this, but they must seriously reduce 

 the returns in almost every season. In an ordinary season they appear 

 about the middle of October, and are at their worst until the middle of 



Compiled by Officers of the Entomological Branch. 



