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Show Heated Water Treatment Kills Disease in Seed Putting cabbage seed In heated water for 25 minutes kills black leg, black rot, leaf spots, and other cabbage-destroying fungi, according to Dr. Charles Chupp, specialist In vegetable diseases at the New York State College of Agriculture. An 18-minute bath in water at 122 degrees will also kill diseases common com-mon to cauliflower, brussels sprouts, and turnips, he says. The one objection ob-jection to the treatment Is that old seed will not sprout well later. Seedsmen and growers, according to Professor Ohupp, may lose by this process for a short time, but this loss, he says, is more than offset off-set by development of disease-free plants. He states that most seedsmen in New York state are having their seed treated and tested, and adds that canneries and creameries are permitting seedsmen to use the cannery can-nery water heating equipment to make the treatment. Work on cabbage diseases began in this state four years ago, when farmers in Ontario county asked for help in saving one-tenth of their cabbage crop which they were losing los-ing by plant diseases. |