THE ASPARAGUS RUST. 
k A NEW AND DANGEROUS PLANT DISEASE. 
It Baffles the Best Scientific Skill, 
The sudden outbreak of the asparagus rust in Con¬ 
cord, Mass., in Auburn, R. I., and other asparagus¬ 
growing centers last summer, and the rapidity with 
which it appeared to spread from field to field, are in¬ 
cidents that are regarded with serious apprehension 
by asparagus growers wherever the facts in the case 
are known. We have become accustomed to 
seeing the potato disease sweep over potato 
fields and kill the vines, leaf and branch, in 
a marvelously short time ; but it is a new 
thing to see acres of asparagus stalks 
blanched and leafless before the last of 
August. 
It is a mistaken idea that is entertained by 
some asparagus growers who do not keep 
accounts with their plantations, that aspar¬ 
agus is a vegetable which yields large profits. 
While it is apparent that such is not the 
case, there is no lack of evidence to show 
that, as generally grown for the last 20 years, 
asparagus has been a paying crop ; not be¬ 
cause large sums of money have been re¬ 
ceived from small areas of land, but because 
it is cultivated with moderate expense, yields 
regular crops year after year, and the prod¬ 
ucts are usually in demand at a fair price. 
Until the present time, no destructive dis¬ 
ease, so far as I am aware, has attacked this 
crop. The Asparagus beetle is well known 
among asparagus growers, but this is a pest 
that can be perfectly controlled by the ex¬ 
ercise of proper diligence, and as a matter of 
fact, it often requires no special attention in 
large plantations for several years in succes¬ 
sion. But now, it appears as though aspar¬ 
agus growers must face a more formidable 
enemy, the asparagus rust, and at present, it 
looks as though they had a hard fight before 
them. 
The rust fungi are notoriously persistent 
in their attacks, and it is not likely that this 
particular one will prove an exception. The 
asparagus beds being perennial, there is no 
opportunity for a rotation of crops, and the 
successful use of fungicides in any manner 
with which we are now accustomed does not 
seem at all promising. What, then, can be 
done ? This is yet an open question. Some 
growers in Concord, Mass , acting upon the 
advice of authorities on fungous diseases of 
plants, mowed their beds and burned the 
stalks late in July and early in August, but 
this is a practice of doubtful merit, because 
it appears to impair the vitality of the roots 
of the plants, and the disease attacks the 
new shoots that spring up before they are 
scarcely above the surface of the ground. I 
examined recently one field where all of the 
old growth was carefully cut below the sur¬ 
face of the ground with an asparagus knife, 
and carried away. The time of the visit was 
about a month after the operation had been 
performed. In this case, new growth had started 
from nearly every root, and the young shoots were in 
blossom. They looked fresh and green at the time, 
but many of them were literally covered with the 
rust, and during a somewhat prolonged hunt, we 
failed to find a single young stalk in that field which 
did not show the disease and, unless appearances 
were deceiving, the young growth would soon be in 
the same condition as the old that had been cut away 
but a short time before. 
Only one case has come to our notice where aspar¬ 
agus plants have been sprayed with the Bardeaux 
Mixture, and in this case, it did not appear to do any 
good. Only one application of it was made, and the 
work may not have been done very thoroughly, con¬ 
sequently it proves nothing. But the mixture does 
not stick to asparagus readily, there is too much 
growth to cover, and the stalks need protection for 
too long a time to expect much help from this source. 
Owners of asparagus fields are generally inclined to 
attribute the sudden appearance of the rust this sum- 
BISMARCK APPLE. Half Section. Fig. 277. 
mer to the excessive wet weather, and they say that, 
next year, we may not see it at all; but to offset this 
view of the case, there is direct evidence of the con¬ 
tagious character of the disease. In Concord, it was 
in the fields where traces of the rust were discovered 
late last fall, that the stalks turned brown first this 
summer, and beds in the immediate vicinity of these, 
were attacked earlier than those that were more re¬ 
motely situated. In fact, in some of the fields on the 
outskirts of Concord, its presence could be detected 
only by close observation, and the plants appeared, 
when viewed from a little distance, to be perfectly 
healthy ; yet, so far as could be ascertained, the at¬ 
mospheric conditions had been about the same there 
as in the center of the town where the outbreak of 
the rust occurred. Again, at Kingston, R. I., where 
the season has been exceedingly wet, asparagus stalks 
have not rusted at all. If the wet weather is the 
cause of the rust in other places, why has it not pro¬ 
duced a similar effect here ? 
How the asparagus rust was introduced into either 
Concord or Auburn, or from whence it came, 
is yet a mystery. Growers in these locali¬ 
ties generally raise their own seed and 
plants, and only occasionally purchase either 
asparagus roots or seed from other sections. 
Those who have been the most observing, 
say that seedlings and newly-set plants have 
shown the rust first, but inquiry usually 
brings out the same story, that the young 
plants were propagated from old beds that 
did not show the disease until after it had 
appeared upon the new plantations. From 
what we have been able to gather, it seems 
probable that young asparagus plants are 
not more susceptible to the rust than older 
ones, but that the development of the rust is 
retarded upon the old beds by the continuous 
cutting of the spring growth for market. 
Thus far, it has not been shown that the 
character of the soil has any direct influence 
upon the development of the asparagus rust. 
It appears alike upon both dry land and wet. 
Perhaps plants do not turn brown quite so 
soon on moist soil, but this may be because 
they are able to maintain their vitality a 
little longer in such locations. If there is 
any difference in this respect in the cases 
that have come to our notice, it is the beds 
on the lighter lands that have been injured 
most. 
So far as observed, neither the amount nor 
kind of fertilizers used, nor the method of 
cultivation practiced, have influenced the 
development of the asparagus rust. A large 
proportion of the beds in the localities pre¬ 
viously referred to are grown under a high 
state of cultivation, but there are beds there 
that are almost entirely neglected. Some 
growers use potash freely in the form of 
kainit, others use nitrate of soda, and still 
others persist in believing that there is noth¬ 
ing better for them to grow this crop with 
than old-fashioned stable manure. Our at¬ 
tention was recently called to a large bed in 
South Acton, Mass., that was just beginning 
to show the rust. It was called the “old 
bed”, and we learned later that it was 
planted in 1858. Another large bed near it 
was planted in 1861. The growth on both of 
these was rank, the tallest stalks reaching 
nearly to one’s shoulders, but at the time of 
our visit in the latter part of August, it was 
decidedly brown. The owner was asked if, 
in his experience of nearly 40 years, in the 
cultivation of asparagus, he had ever seen 
the stalks look as they did then at that sea¬ 
son of the year, and he said that he did not remember 
of having seen anything like it before except once, a 
good many years ago, when there was a drought of 
unusual duration. In his opinion, it was dry weather 
that caused the stalks to ripen prematurely then, and 
not the attack of any disease. 
There is still one other question that has been 
asked about the asparagus rust, “ Are different varie¬ 
ties equally subject to it ?” One case has come to our 
notice which leads me to think that, perhaps, they 
are not. Most of the beds where I have seen the 
BISMARCK APPLE. Fig 276. See Ruralisms, Page 662. 
