260 



Hop-" Mould " and its Control. 



[June, 



HOP-'' MOULD" AND ITS CONTROL. 



11. 



E. S. SAI.MON, 



Mycologist to the South Eastern Agricultural College, 

 Wye, Kent. 



The first paH of this article, published in the May issue 

 of the Journal, contained a description of the Life-History 

 of the Hop-" Mould " or Mildew. An account ivas given 

 of the damage caused by " Mould " and the preventive 

 measures to be taken against further attacks. The figure 

 numbers quoted below refer to the illustrations in Part I. 



Indirect Methods. — It is of great importance for the hop- 

 grower who experiences trouble with " mould " to pay 

 attention to the following indirect methods of keeping the 

 disease in check. 



(1) Destruction of " mouldy " Hops and Bines. — The 

 dangerous practice is sometimes followed, even by experienced 

 hop-growers, of not picking the hops in a garden, or in a 

 portion of it, which has become overrun by " mould." Such 

 " mouldy " hops are often left on the poles or wirework for 

 weeks after hop-picking-time {Fig. 10) for the linnets to 

 shatter or for the wind to blow away. The result is that the, 

 " petals " of these over-ripe hops, bearing thousands of con- 

 ceptacles with winter-spores (Fig. 6), become dispersed over 

 the surface of the hop-garden, with the result that next season, 

 given suitable weather conditions, severe attacks of " mould " 

 occur again in the same garden. It is difficult to believe that 

 any hop-grower becoming conversant with the life-history of 

 the hop-mildew would tolerate this practice of sowing his hop^ 

 garden with the " seeds " (spores) of " mould." Even in 

 the stress of hop-picking time, or at any rate immediately after- 

 wards and before the unpicked hops have become shattered, 

 the bine and the mouldy hops should be collected and burnt 

 on the spot or carted off to make a bonfire on ground outside 

 the hop-garden. Mouldy bines and hops should not be used 

 as litter in yards where the dimg is carted out to hop-gardens, 

 nor as foundation for stacks except in places far removed from 

 hop-gardens. 



(2) Early "Stripping" and Removal of "Runners." — Where 

 there is reason to fear an early outbreak of " mould " through 



