16a EXPERDIENT STATION. [Jan. 



it, except possibly under extraordinary conditions. Further- 

 more, it is not altogether unhkely that the majority of faikires 

 may have been due to lack of thoroughness and an insufficient 

 number of applications. However, the season's experience, 

 together with accumulated evidence from previous years, 

 indicates that there is need of investigation to determine 

 whether there are better methods and better fungicidal ma- 

 terials to use in combating these and other potato diseases. 



The damage to orchard fruits due to diseases brought on 

 largely by the weather conditions of the season was very heavy 

 as compared with that of average years. On plums and 

 peaches, brown rot, caused by Sclerotinia cinerea; on peaches, 

 scab, caused by Cladosporium caryoyhilum; on apple, black 

 rot, caused by Physalospora cydonice, bitter rot, caused by 

 Glomerella rufomacidans , and scab, caused by Venturia inocqualis, 

 were especially severe. Fire blight of pear, apple and quince 

 was more than usually prevalent. 



The serious outbreak of such diseases and the partial failure 

 of potato spraying bring to the fore the question of control 

 measures. No important experimental work on the control of 

 orchard and potato diseases has ever been carried on in this 

 State. Growers are following recommendations based very 

 largely on such work done in other States. Results have not 

 always been satisfactory, and this was true to a greater measure 

 than usual under the last seasonal conditions. There is also 

 lack of uniformity in results obtained from commercial spray- 

 ing of these crops in different sections of the State. Growers 

 and county agricultural agents are now more than ever before 

 turning to the experiment station for help in these matters. 

 The station should be able to make very definite recommenda- 

 tions backed by its ovrn experimental evidence. Such work 

 would involve technical investigations in the laboratory and 

 field spraying under Massachusetts conditions. Until such 

 work is done we shall not be in a position to state authorita- 

 tively what methods or materials should be used. 



These are important, pressing problems, — problems vital to 

 Massachusetts agriculture. Immediate steps should be taken 

 to establish investigational work along these lines. Money 



