19 IO.] SCLEROTINIA DISEASE OE THE GOOSEBERRY. 5, 



— just as the summer stage of the apple "scab " fungus may 

 be found on the young wood of apple trees throughout mild 

 winters. 



If an affected bush has been weakened by the Sclerotinia 

 disease in previous seasons, the renewed growth of the fungus 

 during the spring will frequently cause the death of the bush. 

 In the affected plantation gooseberry bushes here and there 

 will suddenly wilt and die out in all stages of growth; this 

 occurs most frequently at the time when the leaf-buds have 

 just burst open, but often also at a later stage when the bush 

 is in full flower or bearing young berries. If such bushes are 

 examined the stem will be found to be "ringed " by the spawn 

 of the fungus, and on the surface of the stem will be found 

 the Botrytis fructification as shown in Fig. 1. If the disease 

 has not developed to a sufficient extent to kill the bush, the 

 spores which are continually being produced throughout the 

 spring and early summer serve to spread the disease to other 

 parts of the bush. 



Very commonly the spores affect the leaves, which under 

 the attack soon show a discoloration at their edges. The 

 edges of the leaves are first turned yellowish, and finally 

 become ashy-grey or whitish, as shown in the photograph at 

 Fig. 6. If the attack extends from the edge of the leaf inwards 

 until the greater part of the leaf is affected — as is the case with 

 many of the leaves shown in Fig. 7 — the fall of the leaf soon 

 takes place; if, however, as is often the case, the injury 

 remains restricted to the edges of the leaves, the latter remain 

 on the bush until the usual time for the fall of the leaf. 

 Whether the injury spreads over the leaf to such an extent 

 as to make it fall prematurely seems to depend on the climatic 

 conditions which prevail at the time. When a large number 

 of leaves are attacked throughout a plantation and made to 

 fall prematurely, serious damage is often inflicted; in such 

 cases the berries produced are much smaller than on healthy 

 bushes, and a quantity of unripened spindly shoots may be 

 formed. The under-surface of the leaf is the part attacked, 

 and during the months of June and July the Botrytis fructi- 

 fication may be found here on leaves which show the appear- 

 ance represented in Figs. 6 and 7. 



Another part of the bush which may be attacked is the 



