xiii, A, 4 Reinking: Philippine Economic-Plant Diseases ' 171 



tirely wrong impression of the number and destructiveness of 

 the diseases.^ In the Malayan regions, at least so far as the 

 Philippines are concerned, there are represented all the groups 

 of fungi that are present in temperate regions. Extremely 

 destructive diseases are produced by some members of each group. 

 Forest pathology has never been really investigated, but there 

 are many important and destructive timber fungi. The pow- 

 dery mildews, Erysiphaceae, may be very abundant and often 

 destructive during the cooler, drier months of the year. The 

 perfect stage has been only observed with a powdery mildew 

 growing on the leaves of a forest tree, Premnxi cumingiana Schau. 

 This ascigerous stage is of the genus JJncinula. Leaf -spotting 

 fungi are very common and some are extremely destructive. 

 Destructive rusts are present on coffee, sugar cane, and sorghum. 

 Bacterial diseases are present in abundance, many being highly 

 destructive. Certain diseases caused by Phycomycetes and im- 

 perfect fungi may be very severe. There are as many destruc- 

 tive plant diseases in the Philippine Islands as there are in 

 the United States, if there are not more. 



The seriousness of some of the diseases can be judged by the 

 fact that the coffee industry of the Islands was wiped out by 

 a fungus, that the coconut industry suffers severely in certain 

 sections from destruction of trees in all stages of growth due 

 to bud rot, that the abaca industry sustains great losses due 

 to bacterial attack, that one-half of the cacap fruit is destroyed 

 by fungi, and that rice culture is seriously hampered by fungus 

 attacks. This is also true of the sugar and citrus industries and 

 the culture of all vegetables. 



The great factors in the spread and destructiveness of fungi 

 are the lack of proper culture, of sanitation, of pruning, and 

 of spraying. The Filipino farmer plants his crops and allows 

 Providence to do the rest. Ignorance concerning plant diseases 

 and disease control, together with lack of foresight of the people, 

 along general cultural lines, accounts for a good deal of loss. In 

 some few instances growers know that the plants are diseased 

 and that they ought to be removed, but still they do nothing. 

 They figure that as long as they are getting fair returns from 

 their crops they need not worry about the future. There is 

 great need of education among the mass of Filipino f ai-mers with 

 regard to the spread of plant diseases and their prevention 

 as well as for providing properly educated inspectors to safe- 



* Westerdijk, Phytopathology in the tropics, Ann. Missouri Bot. Gardens 

 (1915), 2, 307-313. 



