ORCHARD PESTS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 18141, 5 July 1919, Page 8

ORCHARD PESTS.

gffi LECTURE TO MIOr6SCOPIOAL ■:; :■;':*•! SOCIETY. '!-<-• rw ' ..";.-■ •' : ; '" >J At a meeting of the Canterbury Society on Thursday .'."evening Mr H. Firman gave an address "on the "Mycology of Fruit Trees/' He ■''fdeait. with some of the fungoid diseases W-rnildews," blights and rusts^tthich; (have become a pest to orfchardists. and -farmers. He'detailed the manner bj ''-which these diseases were introduced '?; and spread, and described their stages of growth. Special reference was made , to leaf-curl, the mildew of apple, black spot, brown rot, pocket plum, .silver blight and the rust of wheat. j of-silver -leaf/ -he"'stated, that there was.no known remedy for :;!]£ Silver leaf was caused by a fungus, 'iwhicb. did not spore until the tree at- ; itacked was dead- The tree was then iiisually cut down and thrown into a corner, where the disease., spores de- ; jveloped. ■'■■lie would like to warn 'his (hearers against that practice, as it was •Ithe means bv which the disease was ,; spread. The "dead tree should be burnt ;.at once. ,;: One of the peculiarities of rust of iwheat or barley was" that it passed !i through five stages of development, -two of which, the winter stages, took ■place 'on ther barberry. It had been thought that -if- any of-'-those stages conld be cut out the disease could not spread. In New Zealand, however, rust was prevalent, although it did not barberry as a host. In the discussion which followed Mr W. Martin suggested that an explanation 'of the development of rust in'New Zealand without the, aid of the barberry was-that the" climate i here, being milder than the climates of the countries . from which rust had been introduced, there was no need for the barberry or winter stages, as the_ disease was able to develop through its summer stages almost'continuously during the year. . ; , ■ ,;. A hearty rote of thanks was passed to Mr Firman for his address.