140 TOMATO CULTURE 



which gradually enlarges until the fruit is rendered 

 worthless. The decayed spot is often covered in its 

 later stages by a dense black fungous growth {Alter- 

 naria fasciculata (C. & E.) J. & G. syn. Macrosporiiim 

 tomato Cke. ) , formerly thought to be the cause of the 



FIG. 43 — POINT-ROT DISEASE OF THE TOMATO 

 (Redrawn from N. Y. Expr. Sta. No. 125) 



rot, but now known to be merely a saprophyte. Point- 

 rot sometimes occurs in greenhouses, but is more com- 

 mon in field culture. It is one of the most destructive 

 diseases of the tomato, but its nature is not fully 

 worked out, and a uniformly successful treatment is 

 unknown. It has been thought to be due to bacte- 

 rial invasion, but complete demonstrations of that fact 



