136 DISEASES OF TROPICAL PLANTS OH. 



Australia, Fiji Islands, Sandwich Islands, the United 

 States, and the West Indies. The fruits become more 

 or less discoloured and cracked. The cause has not 

 been determined. A similar disease has been reported 

 for fruit from Portuguese East Africa. Mr. Evans of 

 the Transvaal says that it " gives the rind a very rough 

 and warty appearance," and that ''' it is due to an 

 abnormal enlargement and growth of the lenticels on 

 the skin of the fruit, though the actual cause underlying 

 this is yet to be determined. 



Brown Spot. Mr. Evans also reports this disease, 

 which he describes as follows : 



Externally the fruit appears quite healthy, but on removal 

 from the rind and cutting the soft pulp across, little brown 

 masses of tissue are encountered, which are of a tougher and 

 drier consistency than the surrounding parts. These spots 

 remind one of the necrotic areas found in apples suffering from 

 Bitter Pit. No organism has been detected in connection with 

 the disease, and it appears to be due entirely to abnormal 

 physiological action. 



The writer has occasionally observed a similar con- 

 dition, with the exception that the masses were not 

 brown, in the Cuban bananas. 



Root Diseases. Koot diseases have been reported 

 from various parts of the world, but the data is 

 decidedly indefinite. Marasmius semiustus, B. & C, 

 has been reported from the West Indies and Trinidad, 

 and is supposed to occur in other parts of the world. 

 It also attacks the leaves, stems, flowers, and fruits, 

 frequently causing the flower buds to decay before 

 emerging from the shoot. Ordinarily it is not severe, 

 but a disease which was probably due to this fungus 

 was very destructive in the Fiji Islands about 1889. 

 The only satisfactory remedy is the destruction of the 

 diseased plants by burning. 



Nematodes. These pests have been reported from 

 Trinidad, Costa Kica, Hawaii, and probably occur in 

 many other places. 



