PARSNIP CANKER

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29797, 13 April 1962, Page 7

PARSNIP CANKER

Troublesome Disease There can be few gardeners who have not suffered from parsnip canker. It causes brown markings around the shoulders of the roots, which increase in quantity and severity as the season goes on. Varieties which are short and stubby tend to be more severely damaged. Control of this trouble is not an easy proposition, and plant disease experts have not been able to recommend a cure.

Canker appears to be tied up with the general growth of the plant, for it is often worse when wet weather follows a dry spell in autumn, and is less troublesome when roots have regular uninterrupted growth. Consequently, the “cures" are largely prevention, by paying attention to balanced manuring, avoidance of excess nitrogen or of fresh animal manures, and ensuring that the soil is adequately limed. Repeated growing in the same patch of ground should also be avoided. There is one “cure" — strictly, a prevention—which can be applied at this season, and that is lifting and storing the roots in dry sand. Trials carried out in Britain indicate that there is a very definite reduction in parsnip canker when roots are lifted, compared with when they are left in the ground until required.