484 
Journal of Agricultural Research 
Vol. I, No. 6 
nature the results were not as marked as in the first, although there was 
a difference in germination of 3.8 per cent between inoculated wheat 
planted in sterilized soil and inoculated wheat planted in soil which 
had not been sterilized. 
A SYNOPSIS OF WORK RELATIVE TO HELMINTHOSPORIUMS AND 
FUSARIUMS ON CEREALS 
The most comprehensive study of Helminthosporiums on grains is 
that of Ravn (20) 1 who isolated three species from barley and oats and by 
cultural and inoculation experiments, as well as a study of the morphology, 
definitely established their identity. Eidam (12) was the first to under¬ 
take inoculation experiments with species of Helminthosporiums. He 
inoculated barley with a strain of Helminthosporium secured from oats, 
but without positive results. Ritzema Bos (21) describes some of the 
diseases of barley in Holland and ascribes them to H . gramineum . 
Frank (13) describes a disease of barley which appears on the lower leaves 
of young plants and spreads gradually upward and believes it to be due 
to an infection of H . gramineum . Ritzema Bos (22) describes a dis¬ 
ease on oats slightly different from a leaf spot in barley and believes it 
to be caused by H . gramineum. Pammel (18) describes a characteristic 
barley disease appearing in the United States and believes H . gramineum 
to be the causal organism. Many other investigators, both in Europe 
and this country, have studied the Helminthosporiums on grains with 
more or less definite results, and the literature on the subject is extensive. 
Practically all these studies, however, have been based on examinations 
of diseased plants and, with the exception of the work of Eidam, already 
quoted, have not been based on cultural and inoculation work. Hecke 
(14) secured a pure culture of H . gramineum from barley plants. He 
inoculated seedling barley plants both with mycelium and sclerotia and 
secured positive results in the formation of brown spots on the leaves. 
Ravn (20) cleared up the question of identity of three species of the 
Helminthosporiums attacking barley and oats. In extensive cultural 
and inoculation studies he obtained pure cultures. One of these he 
secured from stunted barley plants and established that it was the cause 
of deep-seated infection in the tissues of leaf, stem, and roots, while 
another species affected only the leaves, but was not systemic. The 
first he attributes to H . gramineum , the second to H . teres Sac. A 
similar disease on oats is attributed to H . avenae Br. and Cav. These 
three fungi were studied in pure cultures on beer wort and other culture 
media and found to differ in cultural characteristics, H . gramineum , 
after 14 to 20 days’ growth on beer wort, producing a snow-white, uni¬ 
formly smooth mycelium; H. teres , a much less abundant mycelium, 
bibliographic citations in parentheses refer to "Literature cited," pp. 487-489. 
