BLIGHTED TOMATOES.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1648, 15 January 1913, Page 10

BLIGHTED TOMATOES.

POSITION AT THE HUTT. Tomato growers ~ in tlio Hutt district are still having tioublo with tho biight, J according to latest reports. Ouo liutt ', grower, informed a . representative vi ; 'I'm; jOoaiinion yesterday that soiuo gant- J; eners are unwittingly uoiug their best to „ s<;at-tao-,'disease over by , ploughing -in young plants whicn had -'J shown signs of the bliglit. According to this informant, ■ many thousands ot young ; diseased plants have been ploughed in, , and fresh crops planted over them. i Tho tact that the abovo practice was i being adopted in some parts was brought } under the notice of Mr. T. W. Kirk, head \ of tho Orchards Division of the Depart- u in'ent of Agriculture, by the reporter. Mr. Kirk admitted' that he had heard thatisbino growers had ploughed in diseased, plants, • but he did'not .think the practice.'.was. very 'general;, the- average .• grower being too intelligent to dig, in diseased, plants when'ho must realise that by so doing he! was charging the ground With disease. The only safe way of disposing of diseased plants, said - Mr. j Kirk, was by burning them. .;'■.,. ■ ( During a general conversation on tho f tomato disease, Mr. Kirk said the Agri- c cultural Department is arranging \for co- c operative experiments' under' glass, and f out of doors between'.the Hutt' growers f and the Department. ' The Hutt Tomato j. Growers' .Association has been asked to ; niako arrangements with' loc/il growers, <] and several names having been submit- 0 ted, preliminaries, are expected.to.be n soon completed. ,• The basis of work will t be somewhat similar to'that carried on •: at Christchurch—viz.,' that the gtowers < will supply tho land and perforin the labour required, tho Department finding tho plants, fertilisers, spraying material,, ° etc., and recouping the grower for the ' actual loss (if any) sustained through the, 5 ■ conduct of the experiment. That is, the Department :will,pay. the.difference, be-, tween the price realised for the crop in , . the. experiment area and that usually obtained from the same area.