loo DISEASES OF THE SWEET PEA 



early stages of the disease infected seed- 

 lings are seen to have a wilted appearance; 

 as the disease progresses they fall over and 

 collapse. The fungus is not often con- 

 fined to the roots alone. It frequently 

 works its way up to the stem, producing a 

 constricted area which marks it off from the 

 healthy part above. The fungus being a 

 soil organism is usually introduced with 

 manure; infection may take place at any 

 part of the roots, or at the lower end of the 

 stem. When the latter is the case, reddish 

 sunken spots are observed at the base of the 

 stem. It seems that Rhizoctonia is pri- 

 marily a seedling disease of the sweet pea, 

 although older plants too are found to be 

 affected with the same fungus, but 'are not 

 killed outright since they linger for a con- 

 siderable time without producing blossoms 

 of commercial or ornamental value. 



