30 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
been most successful of all against the 
sugar-beet nematode is the use of Trap- 
crops. Strange to say, although this has 
often been recommended for root-knot, 
I have yet to find a single case where it 
has ever been tried even as an experiment. 
I am making some experiments this sea¬ 
son. The method consists essentially, in 
planting thickly in close rows, some crop 
known to be very susceptible to the nema¬ 
tode, allowing the nematodes to enter it 
and before they have developed far 
enough to lay eggs, and so increase the 
number in the soil, to destory the crop. 
This is repeated several times during the 
season, and so reduces the number of 
nematodes still left in the soil that it re¬ 
quires several years before they become 
very destructive again. Certain cautions 
must be carefully observed, however, or 
the use of this method will increase in¬ 
stead of decrease the number of nema¬ 
todes. It is necessary to remove or entire¬ 
ly turn under and kill the plants about 
four weeks after they come up. If left 
too long the nematodes will have develop¬ 
ed too far and will have begun laying, if 
not long enough they will still be in the 
motile stage and will crawl out again and 
reinfect the soil. 
What to do with a peach orchard, for 
example, where the root-knot is bad is a 
serious question. In the first place we 
will take it for granted that the orchard, 
even in its diseased state, represents too 
much money to permit it to be cut down. 
It might be well, then, to try watering the 
trees heavily before the buds open, either 
early in the spring or late in the fall, with 
a dilute solution of formalin, so as to kill 
the nematodes in the knots. For 
such I would prefer the cowpea (not 
the Iron.) But unless they are re¬ 
moved in time these trap crops will 
do more harm than good. When the 
orchard is cut down the land should 
be freed from nematodes by some 
of the means above mentioned, before 
setting again to peaches. Avoid cow- 
peas, except possibly Iron, as they propa¬ 
gate the nematode rapidly. Use velvet 
beans or beggar-weed instead. These are 
but suggestions, please understand, not 
from the result of actual personal exper¬ 
ience, but as a result of fair acquaintance 
with the habits of the nematode. I trust 
some of you may have the courage to try 
these in a corner of your orchard and 
report to me the result. 
