Show LEAF SPOT HARMS LEGUMES fungus which cau causes sea disease lives over winter on an dead leaves leaver two characteristics prepared by the united states depot ment of agriculture common alfalfa leaf spot and reo md clover leaf spot are similar la in appear once ance but are caused by two distinct fungi says a specialist of the united states department of agriculture wit who has published the results of studies of 0 alfalfa and clover leaf spots in bulletin the fungus which causes alfalfa leaf spot lives over winter on deal dead leaves which escape decay there are an two characteristics of leaf spot caused by this particular fungus which usually serve to distinguish it from spots caused by other fungi one Is the circular shape and small size of the spots and the other Is a small email raised disk ir in the center of the fully developed spot the disease Is one of the most serious rious and widely known of those which attack the foliage of alfalfa it causes greatest loss during wet weather anil and cases have been reported where it lal has destroyed half of the alfalfa crop little Is known of the method by which fields become infested efforts to exclude the disease from kifowi fields in localities remote from other alfalfa by the surface sterilization of 0 the seed have given no success evidently in these experiments nt at least the department pathologist says the tha fungus was not carried on the of the seed probably ly not with tho th seed at all the source of infestation in such fields still furnishes an later late esting problem leni |