20 Diseases of Truck Crops 



sterilized soil. This method has been developed at 

 Cornell University. The soil is after all the natural 

 and best medium where soil bacteria can grow. On 

 it P. radicicola lives longer, and hence when it is used 

 for inoculation, better success may be expected. 

 The Alphano Humus Co. of New York City have on 

 the market cans with sterilized soils, in which the 

 legume bacteria have been introduced. Each can is 

 sufficient to inoculate one acre of soil. The ability of 

 the organism of one legume crop to inoculate another 

 crop has long been a subject of discussion and has not 

 as yet been satisfactorily answered. Garman and 

 Didlake 1 have shown that there exist six different 

 species of legume organisms. For example they 

 found that the organism of alfalfa is the same as or 

 similar to the one which works on the sweet clover 

 (Melilotus alba), trefoil or black medick (Melilotus 

 lupulina), and bur clover (Melilotus denticulata) . 

 This same organism, however, cannot produce nod- 

 ules on the roots of any species of Trifolium, of Vicia, 

 Pisum, Vigna, Glycine, or Phaseolus. The organisms 

 of all the species of Trifolium (clover) are one and the 

 same. The organisms of all the species of the vetch 

 and garden pea are one and the same. They cannot 

 work, however, on red or crimson clover, or on alfalfa. 

 The cowpea organism seems to be adapted to the 

 cowpea only. The same thing appears to be true for 

 the soy bean organism and for that of the garden 

 bean. Therefore when a land is to be inoculated 



1 Garman, H. and Didlake, Mary, Kentucky Agr. Expt. Sta. Bui. 

 184: 343-363, I9H. 



