A MYCOSPHARELLA WILT OF MELONS. 
J. G. GROSSENBACHER. 
SUMMARY. 
The muskmelons, in one of the Experiment Station green- 
houses, were much damaged during 1907-8 by an uncommon 
disease. The vines were parasitized by a fungus (Mycospherella) 
shortly before the earliest melons were ripe. The disease was 
preceded, in both instances, by the attacks of a red spider, though 
in 1908 the damage by the spiders was but slight. The fungus 
is reported as causing a disease of several cucurbits in the fields 
of some parts of Delaware, but had never been recorded for this 
State.. Since the Delaware reports differed in some respects 
from the observations made at this Station in 1907, nothing 
was published till further information could be obtained on the 
points of difference. The observations were repeated and ex- 
tended in 1908. 
The pathogeneity of the fungus and the relation of its two 
spore-forms are established. Inoculation experiments were 
effective, and, with but a few interesting exceptions, the spore- 
forms of the fungus always appeared successively on the inocu- 
lated vines. 
The disease will probably not become injurious to field melons 
in western New York, though in greenhouses it may cause much 
trouble. 
!The more or less meaningless names in plant disease literature, as designa- 
tions of both parasitic and non-parasitic diseases, have been the source of 
much annoyance to the writer, since the cause of a disease is not suggested by 
itsname. The plea for such terms as wilt, blight, leaf-spot, canker and rot, is 
that the laymen can more readily understand them, but since only a very small 
fraction of plant disease literature is read by them, it seems unfair to the 
pathologist to compel him to use such vague terminology on their account. 
This need seems to be felt by a number of plant pathologists, as evidenced 
by some generic-name and disease-character combinations in some experi- 
ment station bulletins and other places, but not enough prominence has been 
given to the matter. 
The suggestion is therefore made that the genus name of the infesting para- 
site be combined with some popular, descriptive term, as in this bulletin, or 
with the word disease, e.g. Spheropsis canker of apple, Bacillus canker of 
apple, Tilletia smut of wheat, Ustilago smut of wheat, Fusarium wilt of flax, 
Bacillus wilt of cucurbits, Botrytis rot of lettuce, Sclerotinia rot of lettuce, 
and Thielavia root-rot of tobacco. Of course there are some popular names 
. now in use, which are fairly distinctive and useful. The names of diseases 
caused by malnutrition and other physiological disorders may not so readily 
be made more concise until their causes are ascertained. 
* A reprint of Technical Bulletin No, 9. 
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