FIRE-LIGHT DISEASE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVII, Issue 17651, 11 December 1920, Page 8

FIRE-LIGHT DISEASE.

MORE INFECTION REPORTED.

DEVELOPMENT AT RIVERHEAD MEDLAR TREES ATTACKED. The fire blight disease * continues to make its appearance in orchards in different parts of the Auckland Province, and in the endeavour to prevent its spread many valuable trees have been sacrificed. Mr. W. T. Goodwin, officer in charge of the blight-infected area,, who returned to Auckland yesterday after visiting Tauranga, Paeroa, Te Aroha, and Tuakau, stated that commercial fruitgrowers at Tauranga had decided to root out all blight-infected pear trees in their orchards as they realised that there was practically no prospect of saving them. The spread of the blight in that district this year was worse than it was last year. Referring to the other districts he had visited, Mr. Goodwin stated that infection had been discovered at Paeroa; in fact, it was very bad in some of the orchards there. Last year Paeroa escaped the ravages of the blight. The infection at Tuakau, he said, was practically confined to hawthorn hedges, as there was very little fruit grown there. The settlers were appointing a committee to assist the horticultural division of the Department of Agriculture in inspecting and checking the spread of the blight. An outbreak was also reported at Riverhead, and, in addition to apple and pear trees, medlar trees, which, so far as the department was aware, had not previously been attacked," were now taking the infection.

Infection was still being found in the Henderson district, a few new cases being reported almost every day by those engaged in inspection work. Mr. Goodwin expressed the opinion that infection 'was likely to go on right through the season, but he stated that the danger of the disease spreading rapidly from now onward was not so great as earlier in the season.