Jan. 26,1924 
The Black-Bundle Disease of Corn 
181 
There is a direct relation between height of plant and production per 
plant except in quartile four which is made up of the plants of greatest 
height. This quartile contained a number of plants which grew ab¬ 
normally fast. Also a higher percentage of barrenness was noted in 
this quartile. Briefly stated, in considering, during the first half of the 
growing season, a number of com plants having the usual percentage of 
black-bundle disease, plant yield increases with plant height up to a 
certain point, and then decreases. 
HISTORY 
While certain of the symptoms of this group, especially barrenness, 
has been extensively noted by various investigators, no comprehensive, 
detailed analysis or investigation of the causes of these abnormalities as 
a group has been made. Hunt ( 24 , p. 151) says: 
A varying percentage of the stalks of the field are barren—do not bear any ears* 
The percentage of barren stalks on a given soil varies with the thickness of planting 
and the season. Barrenness does not seem to be a variety characteristic. It seems 
to be largely the result of environment. If it were an hereditary characteristic the 
fact that the stalks are barren would tend to eliminate them. 
Burtt-Davy (6, p. 87-90) in considering barrenness as an hereditary 
character says that if barren stems were absolutely barren natural 
elimination would result, but the fact that they produce tassels and 
pollen lends color to the view that they may tend to reproduce their 
kind. He also mentions that cases are reported from America of 60 
per cent of barren stems in a crop of maize. Blackwell (2, p. 20) in 
reporting the work of Hutchinson at South Carolina in using pollen 
from barren stalks to determine its effect on the amount of barrenness 
in the progeny, decided at first that it must be a Mendelian character 
and inherited in the ratio of 1 to 3; but later results did not bear out 
that conclusion. He adds that it has also been noted that there is or 
appears to be a correlation between barrenness and certain other char¬ 
acters, such as color, size of plant, shape of plant, length of life, and 
possibly others. 
Pammel, King, and Seal, 1916 {37) described a cornstalk disease in 
Iowa due to Gibberella saubinetii. The stalks often were barren or had 
small ears. The small dwarf shoots in the axils of the leaves were 
frequently decomposed and the stalks were abortive. Hoffer and 
Holbert, 1918 {19) state that species of Gibberella, Fusarium, Ver- 
ticillium, Rhizopus, and Pseudomonas are, in a great measure, responsible 
’for missing hills, slow-growing stalks, barren stalks, down stalks, and 
early blighting of corn plants. They also say (. 20 , p. 2 , 11) that barren 
stalks and stalks bearing nubbifts only seem to be correlated with certain 
pathologic conditions in the plants, * * * that the rate of seedling 
development usually referred to as “ vitality ” is not a criterion for 
assuming freedom from infection of the seed by bacteria and species 
of Fusarium. The rate of seedling development on the germinator is 
not indicative of the yield possibilities of that seed ear. Selby, 1918 
C 4-6 ), says that rootrot shows in corn not only in weakening the roots, 
making it easy to blow over, but also in causing dwarfing of growth, 
premature dying of the top, and barrenness of stalks attacked. The 
diseased plants may be purplish-colored, dwarfed or stunted, and un¬ 
productive. Russell, 1919, (42) reports more barren stalks in dry years 
