OCR Text |
Show Parasitic Fungus Growth Attacks Potatoes, Beets That finicky fungus, known widelv as Ehizoctonia, and causing an equally well-known disease of pota toes, sugar beets and other crop? shows differences which may ac count for some of its eccentricities according to E. L. LeClcrg of Lo'u isiana State university, as the result Of investigations in co-operation .ith the United States departmeni of agriculture. Reported in Phytopathology, the plant-disease specialists' journal. LeClerg shows how the Rhizoctonia from the potato will not attack sugar sug-ar beets, whereas the same organism organ-ism from sugar beets will attack potatoes. po-tatoes. Investigating further, LeClerg found that the threads composing the body of the sugar-beet Rhizoctonia Rhizoc-tonia were appreciably and significantly signif-icantly thicker than those of the potato po-tato organism. The sugar-beet form also grew faster in laboratory tests, and made its best development around 86 degrees Fahrenheit, while the potato form, the slower grower, developed best at round 77 degrees. The sugar-beet Rhizocton also seemed to be more highly parasitic against other test plants than did the potato form. |