Aug. is, 1914 
Phomopsis Vexans on Eggplant 
333 
in most cases, though occasionally they unite. The pycnidia on the stem 
are about equal in size to those on the leaf, but they are fewer, except 
on the stem of very young seedlings. (See PL XXVII.) On the leaves 
the pycnidia vary from 60 to 200 ti in diameter, while on the fruit they 
measure 120 to 350/z. 
Stylospores, the filiform, hooked-shaped bodies, were found abun¬ 
dantly in the pycnidia on the fruit and stems of many plants inoculated 
in a greenhouse of the Department of Agriculture and on the Potomac 
Flats, near Washington, D. C. If they were not present on the stem 
when the plants were lifted, they would frequently develop if kept a 
few days in a moist chamber. They were also occasionally found in 
cultures on corn meal. 
INOCULATION EXPERIMENTS 
The pathogenicity and relationship of the fungi isolated from the 
fruit and from the stem of eggplants are shown by the results of inocu¬ 
lation experiments recorded in Table I. 
In several experiments the plants were covered for a day or two before 
spraying and for 24 to 48 hours after with paper-wrapped bell jars or 
paper-wrapped glass infection cases. This method, however, did not 
appear to influence the results, since plants which were not covered 
before or after spraying were likewise infected. In fact, mature plants 
on the Potomac Flats, near Washington, D. C., were sprayed at 11 a. m. 
on a very warm, partly cloudy day and left uncovered, and numerous 
infections of fruit and leaves took place. A few infections were found 
on the check plants. It is believed, however, that they came from the 
sprayed plants, since no eggplants were grown within a mile of the 
experiment, so far as could be determined, and since the check plants 
nearest those sprayed showed the worst spots. In every experiment 
with Lycopersicon esculentum , Datura iatula , and Capsicum annuum the 
plants were covered for 48 hours after spraying. 
In all, 27 sets of inoculation experiments have been carried out. Sixty- 
one eggplants in 7 sets were inoculated by inserting spores and hyphse of 
the different organisms into the lower part of the stem, and 59, or nearly 
97 per cent, of these plants became infected. Fifty eggplants in 8 sets 
were sprayed with spores of the different fungi suspended in water, and 
47, or 94 per cent, were to some degree infected. Two pots containing 
many seedlings of eggplants each were sprayed with spores in suspension, 
and practically all succumbed to the disease. Six half-grown eggplant 
fruits were sprayed in 2 sets with spores in suspension, and 5 rotted 
from the effects of the organism. Ten sweet-potato plants (Ipomoea ba¬ 
tatas) were inoculated at the base of the stem, but none became diseased. 
Six large tomato plants in 2 sets and 14 small plants in 2 sets were sprayed 
with a suspension of spores, but none became diseased. Twenty pepper 
plants ( Capsicum annuum) in 2 sets and 10 plants of Datura iatula in 
1 set were sprayed with a suspension of spores, but none were infected. 
