MILDEW.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLV, Issue 21, 23 November 1910, Page 42

MILDEW.

Mildew is perhaps the most difficult of the enemies of the rose to overcome. The fungus first appears as a white mould on the foliage of the trees, and unless it be promptly checked it will spread until the whole collection has become affected. The best way to check the disease in its early stages is to dust sulphur powder lightly over the affected leaves. The sulphur should be put in a fine muslin bag and be shaken over the leaves on the first calm evening after the disease is detected, this operation to be repeated at intervals until the mildew has been eradicated. In cases where the disease has not become rampant spraying may be recommended as a preventive. The preparation recommended in the Rose Society’s booklet is a solution of potassium sulphide, popularly known as “liver of sulphur.” One ounce should be dissolved in five gallons of rain water, and if a tablespoonful of liquid glue is added the fungicide will adhere much longer to the foliage.