WITHERED WHEAT

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 52, Issue 81, 15 January 1932, Page 6

WITHERED WHEAT

HEADS NOT FILLED OUT. MANY CROPS ARE AFFECTED. TROUBLE AKIN TO “TAKE-ALL.” A good deal of damage has boon done to wheat crops in several parts of tho County as a result of the straw drying off before the grain was ripe m the heads, and the result has been the withering and whitening of the heads, giving rise to reports that “take-all, a disease all too familiar to wheatgrowers, had made- its appearance in the Comity to a somewhat alarming extent. While there are cases of “take-all having been reported, it appears that these case's are not very numerous. At all events, the-troublo which is now showing up is rather late in the season for “take-all,” which usually appears before the grain has iully started to mature. Tho damage actually caused by “take-all” is said to be slight. . Several authorities to-day stated that the dry season had been the cause of the withering of the- heads in wheat crops. A succession of very hot weeks at a time when rain was badly needed to develop the grain, caused the straw to go brown and dry up before tho grain in the oar had had a chance to develop properly. The grain was .at that time in the “milk” stage, and at urns vital that the moisture should be carried up to the ear. This, -however, was an impossibility when the straw had dried out and the heads were Jett at- the mercy of the sun. The* natural consequence was that tli-e grain, or the bulk of it, and that at the tip of the ear, was withered, turning white in an almost empty husk. _ It is -stated that not all the grain in the ear has been affected by this process, the lower rows having managed in many cases to develop after a fashion. , . A hasty examination of grain tliat has withered up in this way would lead one to believe that “take-all was responsible for the condition described, but when one looks closer it is seen that there are big differences between the disease and the sun-baked condition referred to. A orain merchant stated tins mornin- that the bulk of the crops were goin- to thresh out better than had been anticipated. The rain which had fallen on six, days of the pi ©sent month, though too late to help tl early crops, would have a most.beneficial effect on the hundreds of ciops which were yet in the green stage. It is held: in some quarters that takeall has been more- severe on the crops this' vear because tlie unusually diy conditions have reduced tlie vitality of tlie plants and they have not been able to resist the attacks of the disease. The nresenco of take-all can he definitely ascertained if, when the leaf sheath on the stalk is removed, the stalk presents a dark appearance. Tlie roots of diseased plants are always very woolly, owifig to a dense formation of hairroots, and because of this underground infection, the burning of the stubble of crops that 'have been affected to any great extent lias been advised. ° Tlie appearance oiß the disease- is not by any means general. There is takeall in'the Countv crops every season, but the density of the diseased plants varies iii- the seasons. It usually appears ori isolated plants scattered all over the crop, but sometimes it appears in patches. 1 . There has been a good deal of frosting in some parts of the County, adding somewhat to the troubles ol an already irksome season, but on tlie whole, the harvest is going to provide greater yields than were anticipated in most quarters. It is x freely admitted by growers and merchants that their hitherto pessimistic prophecies will, on- the whole, not; prove to be true. 'Showers of rain have helped the heavy land crops wonderfully, and while there will probably be a lighter harvest generally, it will not be anywhere so bad as growers thought a month or five, weeks ago.