PICKLING SEED CORN.

Otago Witness, Issue 3399, 7 May 1919, Page 8

PICKLING SEED CORN.

It is desirable in all cases to dress seed grain before sowing in order to ward off attacks of fungoid pests, such as "bunt" and "smut," two possibly allied parasitic organisms, which not infrequently take a severe toll on the crop and lowers the yield considerably. It is not much trouble to treat the grain with some antiseptic agent like sulphate of copper; the only thing necessary is to be sure the treatment is carried out properly. We have frequently used what was termed a 2 per cent, solution of sulphate of copper and water—that is, 21b to 1001 b of water. This is possibly overstrong, and of bluestone to 10 gallons of water should suffice. The New South Wales Department of Agriculture's method of mixing may be recommended. The bluestone is dissolved in a small hessian bag suspended in water, half immersed and half not. The most convenient vessel is a wooden cask, and if a metal container is used it must be of copper—not of any other metal. The wheat should be put in butts of not more than one bushel, and immersed in the solution for three minutes, being vigorously shaken while it is in tho water, so as to make sure that every grain is thoroughly wetted, and to allow those

bunt balls that have not been broken to rise to the surface. The importance of the shaking will be realised when it is pointed out that spores (seeds) of the disease may have lodged among the fine hairs _on each grain, and that it is quite possible for little bubbles of air to be retained in the hairs. If that can happen, then it is not impossible for some spores to escape the bluestone altogether, and to germinate with the grain when it is sown. Only shaking about in the solution will break up those air bubbles. Further, there are frequently a number of unbroken bunt balls among the grain, and these contain enormous numbers of the very mimite spores—enough in one ball, in fact, to badly infect two or three bushels of seed. If one of these balls reaches the drill it may be broken there, anud undo all the work that has been done. • The balls are quite easily removed during the pickling, however, for they are very light, and the shaking allows them to rise to the surface of the bluestone water, when they can be skimmed off. After the three minutes' immersion, the butt should be lifted on to a plank,, and allowed to drain. "No harm is done, and time and trouble is saved if the liquid is allowed to drain back into the cask. Sometimes galvanised iron is used as a draining plank, but it is a bad practice, for the bluestone water that comes into contact with the iron loses the very properties that make it valuable. Ten to 15 minutes is sufficient for the draining, and the wheat can then be put aside to dry, and will be ready for sowing next day. The bluestoned wheat is not infrequently treated with lime, with the view of minimising the corrosive action of the bluestone on the germ of the treated seed. . Useful in dry areas. Formalin may be used instead of copper suliphate witih, satisfactory results. It is to-day probably cheaper. One pound of formalin to 40 gallons of water are to be well mixed and sprinkled over some 40 to 50 bushels of grain. This is heaped up and covered with bags for three hours, and is then spread out to dry, and may be sown.