DISEASE RESISTANT PLANTS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 6371, 20 November 1907, Page 3

DISEASE RESISTANT PLANTS.

AN IMPORTANT PROBLEM. ‘ There is no subject of greater importance to the rural world at tho present time than that of the discovery of dis-ease-resistant varieties of plants. It fs gratifying, therefore, to know that it rs receiving tho attention of tho Biological Division of tho Department of Agriculture. In his annual report tho Biologist says:—“A great deal has been written ou disease-resistant plants, and ono of the general rules that has been promulgated for tho control of plantdisease is tho use of those varieties which appear to resist disease. This, generally speaking, should always bo done, but a fact that must be borne in mind is that tho environment has a great deal to do with tho resistance of certain blight-resisters. Varieties which aro almost immune in certain districts may bo completely destroyed by disease when placed under widely different climatic and isoil conditions. This feature has been observed with many cereals with regard to rust, and the potatoblight in this colony lias furnished many instructive examnlcs of this peculiarity of so-called ‘ blight-resistant plants- In Australia tho breeding of rust-resistant wheats, has been carried on . with success for many years past, but a peculiarity of these varieties is that they are only . resistant in certain parts of Australia. For instance. “Rorraf,” one of tho most famous of these wheats, when planted in the spring-wheat belt of North Dakota, rusts eo badly as to bo unable to produce seed. From this it is seen that wo must not expect resistant varieties of plants to show this quality with certainty when removed from tho district in which it was gained, Therefore farmers when selecting a, variety should consider whether tho pcil and climatic features of their particular district are in harmony with those of the locality in which the variety is known to ’ resistant. Tho above remarks point out liow important it is in New Zealand for proper experiments to bo carried out in the production of disease-resisting plants which would be suitable for the varying conditions ■ of our climate.”