May 24,1924 
Acromania, or “ Crazy-Top 71 
815 
growths represent transformed fruiting branches, rather than vegetative branches, 
is further indicated by the fact that they often have very long basal joints which 
is a character of fruiting branches, in contrast with normal vegetative branches 
which have short joints at the base. 
SHORT AND IRREGULAR INTERNODES 
Irregularity in the lengths of the internodes of the branches is a general feature 
of the abnormal growth. Instead of the normal gradation in the lengths of the 
internodes, an abnormal branch of Pima cotton had joints of the following pro¬ 
portions, beginning at the base: 7 inches, 3 inches, | inch, 2f inches, 1 inch, f 
inch. These irregularities were‘accompanied by twinning, adhesion, and irregular 
development of the secondary and tertiary branches. 
In many cases the late growth, even from distinctly abnormal crazy-top 
branches of Pima cotton, shows a return to nearly normal forms of fruiting 
branches, with the basal joints longer and the others gradually shorter. At the 
same time, more normal fruiting branches are produced from the upper nodes 
of the main stalk. The production of more normal fruiting branches from the 
very abnormal “false vegetative” branches was noted as a further evidence of 
the general consistency of behavior in all parts of a crazy-top plant. While the 
habits of growth of the affected plants are distinctly abnormal the responses to 
differences of external conditions are as great or even greater than with normal 
growth. 
The photograph of a late-season fruiting branch in Plate 3, illustrating a partial 
return to normal behavior in the late-season growth of Pima cotton, still shows 
very unequal joints and malformations of the sockets of the pedicels as in brachytic 
varieties of Upland cotton. The malformations of the sockets explain the failure 
to shed the abortive squares, as in “cluster” varieties of Upland cotton. That 
the dead and shriveled squares often remain on the affected plants has been 
noted by Dr. T. H. Kearney as one of the striking symptoms of crazy-top in 
Pima cotton. 
The shortening of the fruiting branches was carried much farther in the Harts- 
ville variety than in Pima, often to the extent of complete suppression or reduction 
of the branches to shapeless rudiments, less than an inch long (see PI. 11 and 12). 
Even the more normal fruiting branches of Hartsville, formed late in the season, 
seldom had any of their internodes more than half an inch long. 
The different degrees of shortening of the internodes determine the height 
of the affected plants and other differences in appearance that result from having 
the foliage dense or open. The shortening and irregularity of the internodes 
are features of crazy-top that should be considered in relation to the brachytic 
or “cluster habit” of some varieties of Upland cotton, as already noted in the 
review of brachysm. 
ABNORMAL LEAF-FORMS 
Reduction and deformity of leaves are not prominent features of crazy-top in 
Pima cotton, though often very distinct in Upland cotton, especially under stress 
conditions. Some of the distortion that occurs with crazy-top may be ascribed 
to tomosis, which frequently accompanies crazy-top, especially in Upland cotton, 
under adverse conditions, but the leaf-forms may be very abnormal with no 
indication of tomosis. It is only in extreme cases that the crazy-top deformities 
in Upland cotton may be equal or even greater than the cyrtosis deformities in 
China, though still exceeded by the injuries of Upland cotton in Haiti, associated 
with the stenosis disorder. 
