PLANT DISEASES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23767, 21 September 1940, Page 13

PLANT DISEASES

RESEARCH ACTIVITY The progress made in combating plant and seed diseases was reviewed yesterday by the Minister jn charge of Scientific and Industrial Research, the Hon. Dr. D. G. McMillan, who is on a brief visit to Auckland. The Minister said investigations had been made by the grasslands division of the plant research bureau on methods of control of blind seed disease of ryegrass by crop management. The general inference from the facts obtained was that the best yields of pure germinating seed had been obtained from crops which had been closed up early and which had produced a dense bottom growth. Good progress had been made by the plant diseases division at Auckland with methods of control of various plant diseases. The most promising method of control of pea mosaic, _ a virus disease, was by the use of immune varieties. An attempt was being made to breed strains immune to mosaic and a largo number of singleplant selections wore now ready for field testing for type and yield. Dickyrice weevil, a pest attacking citrus trees, was now under control. Observations bad shown that thorough cultivation at critical periods and the removal of branches in contact with the ground materially influenced the control of this pest.