CHAPTEK VI 



TOBACCO 



THE tobacco is a plant which is not strictly tropical : 

 in fact, it thrives far into the temperate zones. Many 

 of the diseases to which it is subject are common in 

 both the temperate and tropical regions, while others 

 may have a more restricted area. However, with our 

 present knowledge of the troubles of tropical plants, 

 it is desirable to give the full list of diseases to which 

 the crop is subject. 



Seed-Bed Rot. All growers of tobacco fully recog- 

 nise the desirability of securing good healthy plants, 

 and all are fully aware of the great losses which 

 sometimes occur in the seed beds. The young and 

 tender plants of the seed bed, well watered and growing 

 close together in rich soil, form a most excellent place 

 for the growth and spread of fungus diseases. Under 

 these conditions the young plants are attacked by the 

 well-known " damping-off " which destroys very large 

 numbers. There are a number of fungi which thrive 

 under the above conditions and cause the damping- 

 ofF of the young plants (see p. 29), but the observa- 

 tions of the writer lead to the belief that the Rliizoctonia 

 is the most important in the West Indies. 



It was and is still the practice in many places to 

 select virgin soil for the seed beds, and then sterilize 

 by building a large fire on the place where the bed is 

 to be made. In some tobacco-growing districts those 

 beds are made in the mountains, partly because of the 

 lower temperature, partly because of the available 



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