PHILIPPINE AGRICULTURE 



FUNGUS ENEMIES 



How Scattered. There are fungus parasites (see page 



5) on every crop in the Philippines, but they probably 



do less damage here than in temperate lands. The most 



destructive here are the coffee rust and maize smut. 



These diseases spread from one plant to another by 



means of their spores, which 

 are like little seeds, and from 

 which new plants grow. The 

 smut can get into a maize 

 field on the seed planted, or its 

 spores can be blown in by the 

 wind from a neighboring field. 

 The coffee rust can be brought 

 in on young plants already 

 diseased, or blown in from 

 other fields. The spores are 

 so small that they cannot be 

 seen without a microscope. 



It is as true of the fungus 

 diseases of plants as of the 

 diseases of men that "an 

 ounce of prevention is worth 

 a pound of cure." 

 How Avoided. Into neighborhoods where a disease 

 does not exist, no live plants should ever be brought 

 from places where it does exist. If necessary to bring 

 in seeds, they should be sterilized. Any spores can be 



FlG. 40. Coffee plant stripped 

 of leaves by rust 



