Bean Anthracnose 181 



Five years after the introduction of bordeaux mixture into the United 

 States, several investigators recommended its use for the control of bean 

 anthracnose. Beach (1892:314-317, 326) experimented with cupric 

 borate, cupric polysulfide, and bordeaux mixture. The last-named was 

 much superior to the others and increased the yield to nearly double that 

 of unsprayed plants. Beach emphasized the importance of spraying 

 thoroughly and of using a nozzle that would produce a misty spray. 

 He believed that the addition to the mixture of enough soap to make 

 suds would cause the mixture to form a thin film over the leaves instead 

 of minute drops. McCarthy (1892:14) recommends either an iron 

 sulfate or a potassium sulfide solution with lime, to which molasses or glue 

 is added as a sticker. He recommends also, as a substitute for the spray 

 solutions, a dust mixture composed either of sulfur flour or precipitated 

 copper carbonate diluted with some dry powdered material, as air-slaked 

 lime or wheat flour. He believes that the application should be made as 

 soon as the flowers have withered if there is any disease in the neighborhood. 

 Halsted (1895 [Halsted and Kelsey] to 1901) carried on spraying experi- 

 ments with beans for seven years. He used a large number of fungicides, 

 including lime-bordeaux of various strengths, soda-bordeaux, potash-bor- 

 deaux, ammoniacal copper carbonate, eau celeste, creolin, and potassium 

 sulfide. Soap also was used in combination with copper sulfate and with 

 eau celeste. Halsted found that there was little difference between the 

 regular bordeaux and the soda-bordeaux in their effects, but the other 

 fungicides proved inferior and creolin was practically worthless. When 

 anthracnose and blight were prevalent they were reduced materially, in 

 most cases, by spraying with bordeaux. With the two successive crops of 

 1896 (Halsted, 1897:330) and the two of 1897 (Halsted, 1898:310, 312), 

 the check row yielded more beans than did the sprayed rows. During 

 the dry seasons of the year 1900 (Halsted, 1901 b:420, 421), little or no 

 success was obtained from spraying. Whetzel (1906:208) relates an 

 instance in which a single spraying reduced the amount of anthracnose 

 20 per cent. Blin (1906) obtained relatively good results in France 

 during 1901 and 1902 from spraying with bordeaux. Von Diakonoff (1909) 

 advises bordeaux or a copper-sugar-lime mixture. 



County agricultural agents have occasionally reported instances in 

 which spraying has given good results in preventing the disease. Nearly 

 all the spray calendars and bulletins on the subject issued by the various 



