266 THE PEANUT— THE UNPREDICTABLE LEGUME 



doubtedly, many cases of apparent ineffectiveness of seed treatment due 

 to poor application of the material used. Slurry treatments have not come 

 into use on peanuts. 



(f) Times of shelling, treatment and planting. Peanuts shelled and 

 treated up to 3 months or longer before planting produce stands as good 

 as those produced by seeds shelled and treated immediately before plant- 

 ing (51, 103, 163). It appears, therefore, that within reasonable limits 

 the time elapsing between shelling and treatment and subsequent planting 

 does not alter the effectiveness of seed treatment if the seeds are properly 

 stored throughout. Treatments are equally effective if applied at the time 

 of shelling or just before planting. 



(g) Environmental conditions after planting. Most of the benefits of 

 seed treatment for peanuts appear to arise from prevention of decay of 

 seeds prior to germination (102, 163). Rains which wash off chemicals 

 before germination will decrease the effectiveness of seed treatment (67) . 

 Even in comparatively dry soil there will be a gradual dissipation of the 

 chemicals, thus any environmental condition inhibiting or slowing down 

 germination will reduce the effectiveness of treatment. 



To summarize: The existing evidence shows that pre-emergence 

 diseases of peanuts are effectively controlled by seed treatment. Factors 

 which influence the effectiveness of seed treatment, however, make the 

 following precautions necessary : 



1. Use only high quality seeds which have been stored properly. 



2. Use machine-shelled seeds in preference to unshelled seeds. 



3. Use a recommended seed fungicide. 



4. Follow directions for treatment and avoid injury from over-treat- 

 ment or failure from under-treatment. 



5. Apply chemicals to seeds in a manner which gives even coating of 

 every seed. 



6. Choose the most convenient time for shelling and treatment, but 

 keep within reasonable limits. 



7. Consider environmental conditions and try to plant under con- 

 ditions promoting rapid germination. 



Post-Emergence Damping-Off 



Importance. Typical damping-off causes slight losses every season in 

 the southeastern United States. There are, however, no reports of damp- 

 ing-off as an important disease in any peanut-producing region. Reports 

 of surveys of peanut fields for diseases contain only occasional references 



