Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 78, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 April 1913 — FARM AND GARDEN [ARTICLE]

FARM AND GARDEN

CONTROL OF PLANT DISEABRB. Requires Constant Vigilance and Steady Work. The attempt to bring about the control of plant diseases by attention to cultural methods has great possibilities. No detailed Instructions can here be offered, only a few suggestions arising from a study of the diseases and their causes, can be given upon which the cultivator with bis complete knowledge of the plants themselves may make plans for putting them Into practice. Whatever is done to keep crops In fn healthy condition is a virtual fighting of disease and this is largely accomplished by methods of culture. Rotation of crops can often bs employed advantageously. The wilt of melons and the rot of cabbage are examples of diseases that may be carried over in the soil. A rotation gfves opportunity for the starving out of the germs and lessens the chances of the disease becoming prevalent again. Drainage Is a prominent factor in the general health of field crops. It also is very liable to have an influence on the amount of rust in the cereal crops, the well-drained fields usually suffering less injury, owing to the firmer and less succulent tissues than are produced where there ife too much water ln>the soil. The matter of early ripening is also worthy of much attention la regard .to the grain, rusts. Repeated observations go to show that a suitable fertilizer, or any other factor which has a tendency to produce early ripening, is an advantage in decreasing the amount of damage from rust.