EELWORM

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 29, 4 February 1937, Page 20

EELWORM

A BULB PEST

The worst pest of narcissi is the, eelworm, "a minute, colourless, and semi-transparent worm that reproduces by means of eggs. It occurs in vast swarms in seriously affected bulbs. When fully grown, the worm is only one-twentieth of an inch in length. It must be clearly understood that the eelworm is microscopic. Bulb eelworm attack upon narcissi has sometimes been called "ring disease," for perhaps the most definite, and certainly the- most' well-known, symptoms of attack is the presence of discoloured rings of dead and dying tissues which

may be seen in the interior of the bulb if it be cut through transversely.

Once a bulb is attacked by this pest its ultimate death is assured unless the remedial measure of submitting the bulbs to hot water treatment is promptly undertaken. The eelworm eventually migrate through the soil in search of fresh breeding grounds and between the commencement of attack, when a few eelworms attain entry to a bulb, and the ultimate death of the bulb, a period of time running sometimes into one or more years intervenes, and during this time various symptoms in flower, stem, and foliage are recognisable. Distorted and blistered foliage, distorted and premature flower spikes, yellow streaks in the foliage and stunted growth are some of the indications of attack.

The hot water treatment or, as it 3s