Bro^vn Rot — Monilia 



V. R. Gardner, Macdonald College, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec 



THE disease known as brown rot is 

 among plum diseases what the cur- 

 culoi is among plum insects — the 

 most serious. It also aflfects cherries, 

 peaches, apples, pears and a number of 

 fruits. As the name implies, it causes 

 other a brown decay of the fruit. It usu- 

 ally makes its appearance about the time 

 the fruit matures, though often not until 

 after picking. The decay spreads rapid- 

 ly from the point of infection, especially 

 if the weather, or storage room in the 

 case of stored fruit, is not. Often the 

 entire fruit will be discolored in a few 

 hours after decay has started, though 

 more frequentlj' several days are re- 

 quired. During the hot weather at this 

 season of the year the disease also 

 spreads with great rapidity from one 

 fniit to another. Sometimes the fruit 

 of an entire tree will appear to be per- 

 fectly sound one day, and the next 

 nearly every specimen will show signs 

 of decay. The spores, or germs, of the 

 disease gain entrance to the fruit through 

 punctures in the epidermis, made by 



insects or other agents, and sometimes 

 through the unbroken skin. A sound 

 fruit touching a decaying one is almost 

 sure to be infected. 



REMEDIES AND TREATMENT 



Most of the decayed fruits fall to the 

 ground, but some shrivel up and remain 

 clinging to the trees. The "mununy" 

 fruits thus formed are a common sight 

 in most plum orchards. As they serve 

 to carry the fungus through the winter 

 and are the chief source of infection for 

 next year's crop, their removal from the 

 trees in the fall materially aids in the 

 control of the disease. As the punc- 

 tures made by the curculio and other 

 insects are usual points of infection, 

 keeping them under control also helps 

 to hold this disease in check. Some 

 varieties are much more subject to 

 brown rot than others. The suscepti- 

 bilitv of the variety to this and other 

 diseases should always be borne in mind 

 in making a selection for planting. In 

 some localities and during some seasons, 

 it is much more prevalent than in others. 



There are a number of sections other- 

 wise suitable for plum growing where at 

 least the European and Japanese varie- 

 ties cannot be grown because of its 

 virulence. 



SPRAYING WITH BORDEAUX 



Outside of these general points to be 

 taken into consideration in dealing with 

 brown rot, there is one specific thing 

 that can be done to control it. Spray- 

 ing the trees thoroughly with Bordeaux 

 mixture soon after the fruit has set and 

 again about two weeks later, will prob- 

 ably be found the most satisfactory 

 treatment that can be given. Another 

 spray shortly before the fruit ripens, 

 also, is often recommended. If this is 

 given, a weak solution of copper sul- 

 phate (one pound to 300 gallons of 

 water) or the copper carbonate of am- 

 monia mixture should be used, as Bor- 

 deaux mixture will stain the fruit at that 

 stage of maturity. Another applica- 

 tion of Bordeaux mixture shortly before 

 the buds open in the spring has been 

 found beneficial in manv cases. 



An E,xperience WitK Asters 



C. M. Dezzo, Berlin, Ontario 



THE accompanying photograph il- 

 lustrates a bed of asters that I 

 grew last year. The spring pre- 

 vious the soil was heavily fertilized for 

 dahlias, and in August the dahlias were 

 mulched with a half-rotted compost of 

 coarse horse manure and sod from which 

 the soil had been shaken. Early in 

 November, after the dahlias had been 

 removed, the ground again received an 

 ■ application of coarse manure, which was 

 dug in. Early in the spring, almost as 

 soon as the frost was out of the ground, 

 the bed was again dug, and the manufc, 

 which had been dug in the previous fall, 

 was thoroughly incorporated with the 



^^H On May 15, I came to the conclu- 

 ^^Hpn that the aster plants which I had 

 I^BIarted indoors, and which were intended 

 for this bed, were a failure and I planted 

 more seed in one end of the bed, in rows 

 keeping each shade separate. After the 

 plants were fairly well started, the 

 ground between the rows was kept loose 

 by constant hoeing, and the plants well 

 watered. On June 16, or one month 

 from the time the seed was sown, the 

 plants were large enough to transplant. 

 They were then taken up and the ground 

 again dug. The plants were placed 

 every nine inches, in rows that were 

 twelve inches apart. This is much too 



close for the proper development of each 

 individual plant, but for effective mass- 

 ing it is about right, although where the 

 growth is sturdy, a few inches further 

 might per- 

 haps be just 

 as effective. 

 Another rea- 

 son why I 

 think close 

 planting ad- 

 vantageous, 

 is that the 

 branches be- 

 come inter- 

 woven and 

 each plant 

 supports the 

 other, there- 

 by reducing 

 the necessity 

 of staking, 

 and the possi- 

 bility of the 

 plants being 

 uprooted by 

 the wind. 



For the first 

 two or three 



weeks after transplanting very little 

 perceptible progress was made, but dur- 

 ing this time, the plants were throwing out 

 roots and feeders underground. Having 



295 



completed, or suflSciently advanced, this 

 under-ground work, top growth com- 

 menced with great rapidity. The ground 

 was soaked with water almost every 



Great Results in Growing Asters 



evening during hot weather imtil the 

 plants were large enough to protect their 

 roots from the blazing sun. The surface 

 of the ground was kept loose with a hoe, 



