208 MAINE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 1913. 



which the rot appeared to be caused by a species of Fusarium. 

 Small pieces of decayed tissue were removed from the inner 

 part of each apple and placed in plates containing 10 c. c. of 

 prune agar. From 15 of the 20 apples pure cultures of Fusarium 

 were found. The plates from the other apples showed a growth 

 of Fusarium but there was also a growth of other fungi. Trans- 

 fers were made from the plates to tubes and the growth on 

 various media agreed very closely with that of F I. Tests were 

 made of ten of these strains which proved that each was capable 

 of producing decay in apples of three varieties, Baldwin, Mann 

 and Bellflower. One strain was used in making inoculations of 

 apples of each of the following varieties : Rhode Island Green- 

 ing, Baldwin, Gano and Northern Spy, with the result that decay 

 was produced in all. 



F I grows readily on a large numiber of the culture media 

 which are in common use in growing fungi for study. On ster- 

 ilized bean pods, potato, carrot, turnip, and beet cylinders in 

 tubes, a rather large amount of white aerial mycelium is pro- 

 duced within 3 to 5 days after transfers are made if the cultures 

 are kept at a favorable temperature for growth. Usually within 

 5 days, red color begins to appear in the mycelium near the cul- 

 ture medium. In a few days, this covers the whole slant in 

 vegetable cylinders and becomes a very bright red. When the 

 cultures become older there is some yellowish and greenish yel- 

 low mycelium. This was especially noticeable on heet cylinder 

 cultures three weeks old. 



In cultures grown under favorable conditions, great quantities 

 of spores are produced. In young cultures spores of many 

 shapes and sizes are found. These include as one extreme one- 

 celled spores, about 8 microns in length, which have usually been 

 designated microconidia and as the other large, 5-septate spores, 

 52 microns in length, which have been called macroconidia. In 

 older cultures of this fungus when the conditions of growth are 

 favorable to their development, orange colored masses of spores 

 are produced. The spores found in these sporodochia are more 

 uniform in shape and size than those found in the young cul- 

 tures, as shown in Figs. 86, 87 and 88. 



