Apr. 26, 1924 
Leather Rot of Strawberries 
367 
Sherbakoff (12) from Tennessee is identical with leather rot, although Sherbakoff 
states that isolations from this “soft rot” gave a Pythium. The records for 
Monett, Mo., and for southern Illinois are based on one carload from each 
State, the only carloads from those States in which the rot was seen either in 
1922 or 1923. This of course does not indicate heavy loss. There is other evi¬ 
dence also that in those States the disease is much less serious than in States 
farther south. But even if only the authentic records of occurrence are considered 
it is apparent that leather rot is rather widely distributed through the South 
in States which in 1922 (see fig. 5 and Table IV) were the leaders in strawberry 
production in the United States. Its relation to production and marketing of the 
crop will be brought out in the subsequent discussion. 
Fig. 6 .—Distribution of leather rot of strawberries in the United States as determined during the picking 
seasons of 1922 and 1923 by inspection of fruit in the field and of shipped fruit on the market. The 
States and counties represented are as follows: Louisiana, Tangipahoa County; Mississippi, Harrison 
County; Arkansas, White County; Tennessee, Gibson, Bells, and Crockett Counties; Missouri, Newton, 
Barry, and Jefferson Counties; Kentucky, Warren County; Illinois, Union and Pulaski Counties 
Table IV .—Carlot shipments of strawberries by States of origin , 1922 1 
Tennessee__3, 592 
Arkansas_2, 190 
Missouri_ 2, 043 
Virginia_1, 670 
Maryland_ 1, 629 
Louisiana_1, 540 
North Carolina_1, 101 
Delaware_ 940 
Kentucky_ 756 
Michigan__ 650 
Alabama_ 459 
New York__ 330 
Florida_ 325 
New Jersey_ 274 
Illinois_ 260' 
All other States_ 789 
* RELATION OF LEATHER ROT TO RAINFALL 
Strawberry growers in the region dealt with in this paper have observed that 
“water soak” (leather rot) is worse during wet weather than during dry weather. 
Their use of the term implies a belief, often explicitly stated, that the berries 
i Figures taken from the Yearbook of the United States Department of Agriculture for 1922 ( 14 , p. 772) 
