Bean Anthracnose 165 



formalin, potassium sulfide, nitrate of soda, corrosive sublimate, and 

 kainit. The lysol treatment resulted in 4 per cent of diseased pods, in 

 comparison with 57 per cent in the check row. The value of other treat- 

 ments are in the order named, corrosive sublimate giving 19 per cent of 

 diseased pods and kainit 36 per cent. Bedford (1900) soaked bean seed 

 for two hours in formalin solutions varying from one ounce in one gallon 

 of water to one ounce in four gallons. The former dilution gave the better 

 results, without the germination being affected appreciably. Sevey (1907) 

 states that experiments at Cornell University, in which bean seed was 

 soaked for forty-five minutes in formalin solution 1-200, gave profitable 

 results. Kirk (1905) says that good results have been obtained by soaking 

 seed for five minutes in water at a temperature of 140° F. (60° C), or 

 for fifteen minutes in water at 130° F. (54.4° C). 



Whetzel (1906) believes seed treatment to be of little practical value 

 in controlling the disease, as such treatment reduces the stand and renders 

 the seeds unfit for planting with a machine unless they are allowed to 

 dry, in which case many of them slip their coats and thus become worth- 

 less. Fulton (1908: 15) says that he has kept beans for forty-five minutes 

 at 135° F. (57.2° C.) dry heat without appreciable effect on germination, 

 while seeds placed in water during a like exposure are practically all 

 killed. He thought that dry heat might be used as a seed treatment for 

 control of bacterial blight, but experiments that he made to prove this 

 gave negative results. Edgerton (1910:46-48), from experiments he has 

 made, is inclined to believe that the disease may be materially reduced 

 by soaking the seed for from ten to fifteen minutes in water at a temperature 

 of 50° C. (122° F.), and that seeds thus treated will not slip their coats and 

 their germinative ability is not impaired. Later, Edgerton and Moreland 

 (1913) report that the treatment of bean seed with hot water 50° C. for 

 eight minutes, with corrosive sublimate solution 1-1 000 for twenty minutes, 

 with benetol solution 1-50 for twenty minutes, or with corrosive sublimate 

 1-1000 in a 1-50 glycerin solution, did not materially reduce the percent- 

 age of germination below that of untreated seed, although formaldehyde 

 solution 1-100 did reduce the germination in the field. However, 

 none of the treatments except hot water had much merit as a control 

 measure for anthracnose, although blight was materially reduced by 

 the treatments witli corrosive sublimate and benetol. 



