Show SMUT OF WHEAT IS preventable DISEASE la lafe tz fe V vr ix s j tia f ff tt ys A ry k byh 4 da 1 i y s r i 1 y y i 4 iw j W ia 4 j 34 C s i Y i s simple apparatus for the tha Form alln treatment consisting of trough tub and sawhorse a trough b tub c pine plug d perforated tin plate prepared by the united states department of agriculture wheat grow growers ers in this country not infrequently experience serious losses caused by preventable diseases wheat Is preyed upon by a number of at parasitic fungi three of which are classed as aa smuts two of these smuts are common posts pests in the wheat wheatfields fields of north america the other commonly known as flag smut Is thus far unknown to this continent though it Is fairly common in australia and certa certain in other parts of tho the world where who wheat at culture has been in progress for centuries says the department of agriculture of the two smuts bunt or covered smut ot of wheat sometimes referred to as stinking smut la is found wherever wheat is grown sometimes resulting in losses to the farmers of the united states of or more annually not infrequently fields planted to td untreated seed and giving promise of yielding 30 to 40 bushels per acre of good wheat will produce a crop of covered smut amounting in some cases to as much as aa 40 to 60 per cent of at the crop this smut disease is caused by a parasitic fungus which attacks the growing wheat plant before the farst leaf appears above ground once inside the attacked seedling it continues its growth and by theotime the time the wheat waca begins to head the diseased plants produce a crop of smut it if we examine the heads beads of such a plant we find instead of normal wheat grains only a lot of smut balls in other words the materials produced by the living plant tor for the purpose of building up sound wheat grains have been consumed by the parasite in forming its masses of smut spores which finally occupy tile the exact position in the wheat heads that bould have been beed filled by the kernels nad had they been allowed to develop these smut balls consist of nothing but millions of spores in each case by a thin enveloping membrane when the smut balls are crushed the adores give off an odor not unlike that of herring brine the liberated spores become attached to the seed which it if planted without previous treatment may produce another crop of si smutted wheat treat seed with Form alln bunt or covered cohered smut of wheat to Is one of tho the most easily prevented of any of the cereal diseases the following procedure Is recommended run all seed wheat through a fanning mill in order to bloy out the unbroken E bunt or stinking smut of wheat two smutted heads smut balls this being done the grain should bo be soaked ten minutes in a solution consisting of one pound of commercial form altri obtainable at nearly all drug stores added to 40 gallo gallons ns of water the seed thus treated Is next allowed to drain and is then piled on the floor and stirred frequently until sufficiently dry to sow saw if during this process the kernels have swollen very much the drill should be set to sow a little thicker else the quantity r sown per acre will be less than was intended rotation in severe cases recent experiments have shown that uncertain in certain sections of the country the soil or of a field producing a crop of smutted wheat this year may harbor enough smut spores to cause the appearance pe arance of smut in next years crop if the field bo be re seeded to wheat this sometimes occurs where smut Is very bad in spite of the planting of tient treated seed and shows that in such lacall localities crop rotation should bo be practiced in addition to seed treatment bunt i jar or covered smut amut of wheat attacks no BO other cereal crop but other cerrati have their own smut diseases loose smut the other wheat smut occurring in this country known commonly da loose smut Is not so serious as bunt although it probably produces an average loss of three fourths of one per cent of the total wheat crop of the tha country loose smut may bo be prevented by treating tho the seed by the jensen hot water method or some soma modification of it the jensen method consists in sea ing the seed for ten to fifteen in fit hot water at a temperature of to degrees fahrenheit it Is highly important that tho water shall not rise over degrees or fall b below 0 low degrees fahrenheit A temperature temper aturo below this will not kill tho the smut while a temperature too high may affect the germination of the aed s eed tho the grain after treatment should be immediately spread out to dry it if it cannot bo be spread at once it should be dipped into cold water to cool abonce at once and spread as soon as possible |