Jasper County Democrat, Volume 19, Number 48, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 September 1916 — KILL THE SMUT [ARTICLE]

KILL THE SMUT

PREVENT LOW YIELD AND POOR QUALITY BY GIVING YOUR SEED WHEAT A BATH. Disinfection and proper methods of sanitation help keep the human family free from disease. Crop rotation helps keep the soil free from disease, while certain treatments of seed prevent particular wheat diseases. Wheat rust may be avoided largely by growing an early maturing variety. Stinking smut in wheat may be treated the same as smut in oats, that is, by giving the wheat a bath. Spread the seed on the barn floor and thoroughly sprinkle it with a solution of one pound of formalin to 40 gallons of water. Shovel the grain as it is being sprinkled, cover with sacks 2 to 12 hours, and spread out to dry. If there are smut balls in the wheat the sprinkling method is not effective but the wheat must be dipped as follows: Pour the formalin solution Into a tub or barrel, put in the wheat and leave it there for ten minutes. Stir constantly with a paddle and skim off all smut balls and scum that rises to the surface. The solution may then be poured into another vessel and the grain spread out to dry on a clean, disinfected floor. The formalin treatment also checks the disease known as anthracnose. Disinfect the drill box and tubes and dip the sacks that hold the treated seed in the solution and dry before filling.