CLUB ROOT.

Lake County Press, Issue 2990, 17 May 1923, Page 3

CLUB ROOT.

Lime Treatment Uselesa. At Browne Field Day last week Mr R. B. Tennent, Instructor in Agriculture for Otago and Southland, gave some interesting information about the disease of club root in turnips and other allied crops. This disease had caused considerable trouble in South land of late and it was at the request of several prominent farmers that Mr Tennent spoke on the subjeot, In test books, said Mr Tennent, lime was said to be an effective cure but he would Bay without hesitation that this was quite fallacious Experiments were being made all over the world to try to discover an antidote but without success. No spray or chemioal has been found to be any U3e. The only known method obviating the disease was by the correct rotation of crops. Any paddock infected with club root should be left for a period of at least six years and sown during that period only with crops such as grass, wheat and oats whioh were not susceptible to the disease. Mr Tennent also stressed the fact that club root was essentially an infectious disease and could be transmitted from one place to another by horses, sheep, cattle, and even farm implements A. Danish turnip had recently been imported which wa3 supposed to be immune from the disease but it had been fouud at the Winton experimental plot that this turnip took the disease as badly as the other varieties. This might be due to the fact that the plant was weakened by acclimatisation, and experiments would be continued with it In any case lime was absolutely useless. At Winton they had tried putting as much as 1G tons of lime to the acre, and the crop 3in the ground thus treated wore still quite susceptible to the disease.