10 
Bulletin 69. 
ently healthy plants exhibited this latter symptom. (See Plate V., Fig. 
3). Upon examination, the bushes were found to be attacked by a 
root fungus which is closely related to the one which is so destruct¬ 
ive to potatoes. (See Bulletin No. 70 of this Station). All parts of 
the plant below ground were attacked, but the greatest injury 
occurred on the canes above the crown. Here, as shown in the illustra¬ 
tion in Plate III., the bark was discolored and shrunken from the 
crown to the surface of the soil, or a short distance above. The fungus 
grows on and within the bark, destroying the tissues, and thus inter¬ 
fering with the movement of plant food. The injury commonly 
extends around the cane, and when it becomes deep enough to cut 
off the supply of moisture and food, the plant dies. 
The presence of the yellowish foliage was probably due to a 
badly diseased root system at the beginning of the season. An 
excess of moisture in the early part of the season was favorable to 
the growth of the fungus, which made rapid inroads on the plant’s 
vitality. That they were poorly nourished, was indicated by the 
yellow appearance of the leaves. 
The drying up of leaves on apparently healthy canes may have 
been due to a vigorous attack of the fungus which, because of favor¬ 
able conditions, was able to seriously injure the plant in a short 
time. 
This fungus, Rhizodonia, is destructive to a great variety of 
plants, and it is widely distributed in the State. There are possibly 
several species of the fungus, which may be destructive to different 
plants. Little is known about the disease, and some investigators 
regard it as a sterile fungus, or one that produces no spores. But 
our investigations indicate that Rhizoctonia is but a stage in the 
development of a fungus of which some species are well known under 
another name. 
There is no way of curing diseased plants, nor a practical 
means of preventing the disease from spreading after it makes its 
appearance in a plantation. It is a wise precaution to destroy all 
affected plants, but even this severe measure will not rid the soil 
of the fungus. New plants filled in such vacancies are liable to be¬ 
come diseased in a short time. It has not been determined how 
long the fungus will persist in the soil, but a new plantation should 
not be set on land where diseased plants have stood for at least four 
years. 
It is undoubtedly the same fungus which attacks both black¬ 
berries and raspberries, hence raspberries should not be set on land 
where diseased blackberries have recently been grown, or vice versa. 
Finally, when setting a new plantation, great care should be 
taken to get plants from stock that is known to be free from the 
disease. 
