Fxperien BULLETIN NO, 21. OF DEC. 1890. AGR/C UL TURAL EXPERIMENT STA TION. Agricultural and Mechanical College, AUB.JI-N,. 0 ALA. A .New Root Rot JDisease of Cottomb Report ctf Alabama Weather Service. 0 ~The Bulletins of this Station will be sent Free to any citizen of the State on application to the Director. 24~5 Board of Visitors. COMMITTEE OF TRUSTEES ON EXPERIMENT STATION : HON. J. G. GILCHRIST, HON. R. F. LIGoN, HON. J. B. MITCHELL.. Board of Direction. W. J. N. P. G. L. BRtOUN ............................................. .................. ....... 5,ENEWIHAN ............ T. LUPTON ..................................... H. MELL.......................................Botanist F. ATKINSON................. ......... ...... President. Director and Agriculturist. Vice-Director and Chemist. and Meteorologist. Biologist. ............................ ASSISTANTS: ISAAC J. Ross. First Assistant Agriculturist, charge ............. Live Stock and Dairy. JAS. 'CLAYTON.... T. ANDERSONI, PH. D................... ........ ............. Second Assistant Agriculturist. First Assistant Chemist. ........... L. W. WILKINSON, M. Se.... ......... .............. HUTcHISoN, B. Sc.............. .................. ................ A. M. LLOYD, B:e.... ........................... W. B. FRtAzer ...... P. L. econd Assistant Chenmist. Third Assistant Chemist. Assistant Botanist. .Clerk and Accountant. : 46 A New Root Rot Disease of Cotton. GEO. ' F. ATKINSON. In response to a circular letter issued from the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station during the early part of the summer of 1890, requesting specimens of cotton affected with the so-called "black rust,"' "red rust," "root rot," etc., I received specimens of. rotted roots of cotton from Saville, Ala. The specimens were sent by Mr. G. W. Rhodes of that place on whose farm they were collected. The disease was called by him "'root rot. and the roots were certainly in quite an advanced stage of decay. The two roots sent were tap roots and were probably pulled up so that the decayed lateral roots were broken away. I expected to find the Ozonium described by L. II. Pammel as being the cause of a root rot disease of cotton in Texas (Bulletins Non;. 4 and 7, Tex. Ag. Ex. St.). There were no external signs of the mycelium of a fungus visible to the unaided eye, and exam ination was made by taking cross-sections. In all the preparations fungus threads were present, having penetrated the dead tissue. I supposed these were probably connected with the Ozonium, though we would expect .to find various saprophytic fungi attacking such tissues. In one preparation, however, peculiar fat globules were present in quanity in enlarged cavities. Upon close examination I found also peices of a thin memnbrane marked with irregular rugosities and strive. 247 This at once suggested to nme the presence of the female cysts of Heterodera radicicola (Greef) Mull., a root-gall nematode, which was made the subject ofja special study* by myself one year ago, and is known to be very injurious to many plants. The subject now possessed a new interest and I made a special trip to Saville the early part of September to thoroughly investigate the disease and various stages. of plants in to make careful collections Although I possessed the faint suggestions of the presence of Heterodera in the material sent me, I was quite surprised( to find that this worm was the cause of the disease. more or less affected. .In some places there There were perhaps two or three acres in the field that were were spots several These spots were often connected by areas more or less affected, and in some places an dead ones. a shovel. square rods in extent on which the cotton was entirely dead. apparently healthy plant was surrounded by were carefully dag up with Only a portion The plants [ examined At first I selected those entirely dead. of the tap root remained attached to the stem, the lower portion having rotted away. To the' plants which had recently died portions of the lateral roots remained however, easily breaking away. In a:few cases, even tho,!gh the characteristic galls could bescen on ed tap roots no galls could be found roots were we t l rotted, the some of the lateral roots, On the- decaysince the tissues were well in connection, the majority, being oval and somewhat one-sided enlargements. broken down.A few plants which had been-buadly diseased showed evidence of partial recovery, young branches growing from the lower part of the stem. Such plants yielded unmistakable eviWhile the lower end of the of the ground which had These lateral roots dence of the work of Heterodera. a number of roots near the surface given it the fresh impetus for possessed an abundance of the galls, tap root had rotted away, the plant had succeeded in putting out growth. and the peculiar ,racked * Science Contrbutions from the Agricultural Experiment Station, Alabama Polytechnic Institute, Vol. I. No. I., Dec. 1890. An abstract prepared by the author was published in the March and April (1890) numbers of the Southern Cultivator, Atlanta, Ga., uuder the title, "'Nematode Root-Galls." 248 kU I Kt PLATE I ATKIN11N, ANEW R FCTO TDSAE HOT DISEASE OF COTTON. 5 and scabby lateral galls on the upper portion of the tap root showed how thoroughly infected the plant had been. But the richest specimens were found in plants the first external signs of the disease. In which showed these specimens not only was there a profuse development of the galls on the lateral roots, but nearly the entire lower portion of the tap root was affected, having large lateral galls, and scabby in appearance. specimens collected by myself. which from age were cracked is from a photograph of This is the appearance of the old Plate I. larger galls on all plants, and lays these parts under contribution to various putrefactive bacteria and saprophytic fungi so that the roots of many plants literally rot off. has this effect in the case of the diseased. off below. quickly The presence of the worm that are badly tomato plants The tap root is always very freely attacked and rots Tomato plans seldom die outright as a result of the out numerous lateral roots above the point of decay of the lower part of the tap root, for they are capable of sendlin: injury and thus tide the plant along. Cotton plants do not have Ihe power of seuding out lateral roots so readily near the sur- face of the ground when the stem becomes rather old and are therefore more liable to serious injury when badly diseased. Mr. Rhodes was not acquainted with the characteristics of nematode root-galls and was not aware tree that any plants in his neighI noticed one old peach informed that ago. a peach At my and borhood were affected by such a disease. still in the cotton field, and was orchard occupied the grounds about twenty years okra plants found them very badly diseased. fected. request we visited the garden and upon pulling up tomato This was sufficient evidence that portions of the grounds there were very badly inThe external manifestations of the disease in cotton are strikingly similar to those of the root rot disease caused by Ozonium as described by Pammel; changing of the spots. the irregular distribution of the spots as well as the tendency to increase in extent and sometimes the Also as in the case of Ozonium the first This similarity in exterexternal sign of the disease is the sudden wilting of a plant on a hot sunshiny day, especially after rain. 249 nal appearance is easily accounted for from the nature of the disease, since the condition of the roots prevents the absorption of water in quantities equal to that transpired by the leaves, though there may be an abundance of water in the soiL time the plant rapidly declines. The diseased plants begin to die about the disease continues throughout the season. In my studies last autumn I found cotton affected at Auburn, but not seriously. attacked while were developed. The worms are able to live and develop in the roots of a great variety of plants, though some plants are more subject to serious attack. There are indications that they may become somewhat provincialized in their tastes, Some cotton planted in September of the preswas, in some cases, seriously ent year for experimental purposes time of "chopping out" the cotton in May, when the plants are quite small, and the From this yet only one or two leaves above the cotyledons in some localities attacking more seriously plants which in other localities ate not much injured. If deprived for some time of the food plant will affect more seriously caped their injuries. That the worm can produce a serious disease of cotton, and is more widely and thoroughly distributed than is generally known, increases the gravity of an already serious question. It may be of interest for the readers of this article to have a short account of this worm. * Other examples of nematode worms are found in the trichina of pork, which produces in man the disease known as trichinosis; in the '"vinegar eel" or "paste worm;" and in the so-called worm," one of the Gor'didce, popularly morphosed horse hair. The eggs are bean-shaped, and 250 of them placed end to end would make a line one inch long. The young worm, or larva, hatches from the egg in about a week's time in favorable weather. * This account of the worm is quoted from an article by myself in the they prefer they es- the ones which formerly nearly "hair supposed to be a meta- Agricultural Journal, Montgomery, Ala., Nov. 1890, entitled "Danger from the continued Distribution of the Root-Gall Nematode." 250 7 It is "thread like" or "eel like," from which the family of worms to which this one belongs gets its name of Anguillulidce. It is blunt at the head end and narrowly pointed at the tail. The mouth is in the center of the blunt head. In the oesophagus is a short, slender spear which the worm can thrust forward partly out of the mouth and then draw it back. By thrusting this spear forward the worms puncture holes in the roots which enables them to enter. Once in the root the worm moves around, sucks the juice, and, by its presence, stimulates the tissues of the root toabnormal growth, and thus the galls are formed. The worm now becomes stationary in the tissues of the gall, moults its skin the second time, having moulted once just about the time of hatching; it distends by growth into a vesicular body resembling a gourd. the males and females. small Before it is fully grown important differences appear in The males instead of disiending farther shrink away from their skin, leaving it as an "empty shell," exactly the shape of their body when they resembled a small gourd. As they shrink in diameter theyincrease in length until when inide their again, which to the The distended cast off skin makes the The males have fully developed they are coiled three or four times distended cast off skin. third moult. While they are elongating they moult makes four times for the males. ieturned eel form of the worm. but are much longer than the larva and have blunt tails instead of narrowly pointed ones. break through their cystic wall seek They now (the distended cast off skin) and the female to fertilize her. Twenty or twenty-five males placed end to end would make a line one inch long. The female continues to distend so that she a stout gourd, the head being at the small end. not so large as a gourd, since it takes about females to make a mass so large as Each female contains from 200 to 300 eggs. closely resembles Of course she is five millions of the sized gourd. larvre hatch The a common while yet within her body because she is imprisoned in the rpots, unless some accident happens to the gall which breaks it. In favorable weather the worm will develop ?from the the mature female, to eggs again in about one month. b( seen Ihat they develop very rapidly. 251 egg to So it will 8 REMEDIES. There are many nurseries, market gardens, propagating houses and less pretentious places for growing such plants as the peach, grape, cabbage, tomato, Irish potato, etc., for sale, or even to give away, to be transplanted, that are infected with this worm. When soil is once infected it is very difficult to get rid of the worm. The most important action is to prevent the farther distribution. Irish potatos are one of the most prolific sources of infection and the only way to tell certainly when they are infected is to know whether or not the soil where they were grown is free from the worm, and the seed potatos from which the crop was raised were also free. The purpose of this bulletin is to warn farmers and horticulturists to be very cautious as to the source from which they get rooted plants or tubers for planting in their fields or gardens. Where land is already infested, though no remedy is known, there are some practical suggestions to be made, which if followed will keep the worms somewhat in check. ROTATION OF CROPS.-By growing for a few years on badly infected soil, plants which are known to be insusceptible to the attacks of the worm, the numbers can be greatly reduced. It should be some crop that can be cultivated, or else weeds should be pulled from the ground. If a crop susceptible to the .attacks of the worm were grown every third year probably it would suffer much less harm. *CLEAN CULTIVATION.-The absence of clean cultivation is one of the most fruitful scources of the thorough impregnation of the soil with the worms. It was of course impossible to make an application of this principle to the enemy in question before that enemy was known, and especially before the time required for its complete development from the egg had been determined. INow that these facts are known and since we know many of the plants subject to the disease it is to be hoped this method will be employed by those desirous of :subduing the worms. Not * The remaining suggestions are taken from my article in Science Contributions from the Agricultural Experiment Station, Alabama Polytechnic Institute, Dec. 1889, pp. 47-50, Vol. I., No. I. 252 9 only should an effort be made to prevent the growth on arable land of all plants growing wild which are liable to serious infection, but so soon as a crop has been gathered, or it is found that the crop will not be worth gathering, from any cultivated plant liable to serious infection the farther growth of the plants should be stopped, or what be a serious is better the roots of the plants should be In gardens this would not I gathered and :burned when possible. task compared with the benefit to be derived. have noticed cabbages, tomatoes and potatoes, all of which are seriously susceptible to the disease, growing in an abandoned condition for two months in the latter part of the season, all the while providing for the rapid development and multiplication of the parasites. During this time two successive generations of the Each female egg would on the average, worms are developed. 200 young. making no allowance for fatalities, produce in the first generation Allowing 50 per cent. of these for mal s there would These would then on the basis of a similar comThen during the time of the abanbe 100 to start the second generation for every one at the beginning of the first. ers putation produce 20,000 young or 10,000 females to be the producof the third generation. doned growth of these diseased plants every productive parasite has produced 10,000 productive parasites. TREATMENT OF PERENNIALS.-The fig, etc. greatest care should be exercised in the cultivation of perennials like the grape, peach, The young plants should be obtained from sources where The orit is known they have been grown in non-infected soil. of insusceptible plants. be rendered sterile by worms. a fertilizer plants liable to the disease discontinued. chard or grapery should be selected and by a system of cultivation starving out the should be Then the practice of cultivating either for forage or as in the orchard Where orchards or graperies are so seriously in- jured as to interfere with the productiveness of the trees or vines, they might be preserved for a few years while the orchard is renewed in soil freed from the worms, when they should be destroy- ed. The peach trees and grape vines which I have examined in the vicinity of Auburn, while slightly affected do not appear yet to 253 10 suffer any serious consequences. Young trees and seedlings are more seriously affected. The most badly diseased grape cuttings I have seen were those grown very near diseased cabbages and tomatoes. Care should also be used in the cultivation of seed potatoes which.are not infected. TRAPPING THE WORMS.-In Germany cultivators of the sugar beet have resorted with a degree of success to trapping the worms of a related species (H. Schachtii)* from badly infected soils by the cultivation of plants very susceptible to the disease, and then gathering the roots before the worms are fully developed and destroying them. Such plants they call plants" (" COMPOSTS.-If roots are ever used* in the making of composts great caution should be used since there is danger of infecting soils hitherto free from the wormsi by fertilizing such land with compost naterial containing diseased roots. Kiihut has shown that such infection does take place in the case of a related species, Heterokra Schachtii Schmidt, and also states the material may be rendered innocuous by placing unslacked lime in layers with the infected refuse of plants which may be used in compost. PLANTS AFFECTED.-The following list of plants affected with the Nematode root -galls is by no means complete. It.comprises only such as with limited time I have been able to deter- "catch 4Fangpflanzen") . that mine thus far in the vicinity of Auburn: 1 Amygrialus Persica (peach). 2 Ficus Carica (fig). 3 Vitis vinifera (grape, several varieties). 4 ftSolanum tuberosuin (potato). 5 Solanum escuientum (egg plant). 6 tLycoperscium 'esculentum (tomato). 7 Physalis sp. 85f Abutilon sp. 9 10 11 12 tGossypium herbiceum (cotton). Hibiscus esculentus (okra). SIda spinosa. Modiola multifida. *Sorauer, Pflanzenkrankheiten, Vol. II D. 851. IDle Ruben Nematode. der Provinz Zeitschrift des landwirthsehrtft~ie(tex Ccatr.1 -Vceins 12. pp. fBadly Sachisen. No. 332-3135. 1870. 254 affected. 11 13 Cassia obtusifolia (coffee weed). 14 Dolichos catiang (cow pea), 15 Phaseolus. 16 Lespedeza striata (Japan clover). 17 Lotus corniculatus (bird's foot clover). 18 Melilotus alba. 19 Ipomcea tamnifolia. 20 Ipomoea lacunosa. 21 Clematis sp. 22 Phytolacca decandra. 23 tHelianthus annuus (sunflower) 24 tCitrullus vulgaris (watermelon). 25 tCucumis melo ("nutmeg melon," "citron"). 26 Beta vnlgaris (beet). 27 Amarantus retroflexus (spineless careless weed). 28 Ch nopodium Anthelminticum (worm seed)29 Zea mays (corn). 30 tBrassica oleracea (cabbage). 31 Brassica Rapa (turnip). 3:2 tBrassica campestris rutabaga (rutabaga). 33 Marrubium vulgare (borehound), 34 tPastinaca sativa (parsnip). 35 Lactuca sativa (lettuce). 36 tTragopogon porrafolius (salsify). tBadly affected. REPORT -OF THE- ALABAMA WEATHER SERVICE, Co-operating with ,theU. S. Signal Service. November,' 1890. STATE POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE, Auburn, Ala., Dec. 15th,.1890. The month of November was 'remarkable for the 'fineweather prevalent during the entire period, the rather high temperature and the very small precipitation. Two observers reported a total absence of rain , and the average for the State was 3 .25 inches below the normal. The small amount of moisture thus indicated is singular this season of the year. The first few days of the month were cool and so was the last week, but the temperature generally was high and the weather dlelightfully mild and pleasant. The season was exceedingly favorable for harvesting and the. farmers have been .able to save their crops in excellent condition. Roses, delicate geranium and wild were in bloom up to the close of the month,and in fact no frost was heavy enough to destroy the buds of the tender plants exposed to the free circulating night air. The average tempera- flowers ture was 4 J. M. QUAHLES, c.4 Assistant. above the noanal. P. HI. MELL, Director. 256 13 MOTHILY SUMMARY. A'ITOSPIHERIC PRESSURE (in inches)-Monthly mean, 30.179; maximum. olserved, 30 .565, at Auburn on the 21; minimum observed, 29 .910, at Chattanoogaon the 3; for the State, .655. TEMPERATURE (Degrees F.)-Monthly mean, 57 highest monthly mean, 63 .6, at Citronelle; .lowestmonthly mean, 46 .7,at Double Springs; maximum observed, 85, at Citronelle on the 11 and 12; mimimumn observed, 23, at Valley Head on the 1 and 4; range for the State, 62; greatest local monthly range. 59, at Valleylead; least local monthly range, 39, at Union Springs. PRECIPITATION-INCLUDING MELTING SNOW (ilinches)Average for the State, .59; greatest, 1 .79, at Uniontown; least, 0 .00, at Bermuda and Columbiana; mean relative humidity,66. at Auburn, 65 at Uniontown, 83 .4 at Valley dead. WIND-Prevailing rirection, N. W. Miles travelled at Chattanooga, 3,140; at Montgomery, 2,077 at Mobile, 4,886; at Auburn, 2,167. range. .3; NOTES FRQOM OSERBVERS. Tusconbia (T1. B. Thornton) At 7 P. M. on the 23 a faint halo; on the 28 smoky looking a like Indian summer. Livingston (J. W. A. Wright).-lleavy frost and ice.ond the l~ittle 1st, 21st 27th, and 29th. Only twenty have brought us less than 41h, five two inches years out of the last of rain during INovember. Our average rainfall here for November 3..90, while in 1870 and 1875 we had over 7 inches, and in 1880 over 10 inches, in 1873 we had 1 .19 inches' in 1874, 1 .06 inches, but in 1876 only .52 inches; tn 1887 only .35, and in this November .67. of an inch. The average temperature for October was 3© cooler than normal for that month. The average temperature for November was .3' warmer than normal as shown by our observations for more than 23 years in wtern Greensbhorough (Vt. H. Ycrby) -,No Alabama. unusual phenonena this mnth, with the exception of the very small amount of precipitaIton, it having rained but one during the entire month. ]letter weather harves;ing a crop could not have been desired. for been gathereddayand the yield was The cotton crop has better than last year. 257 considerably 14 TABLE OF SOIL TEMPERATURES-NOVEMBER, 1890. (The observations for this table were taken at Aubnrn, A. Ala.) M. LLOYD, Observer. NOTE.--There are three sets of themometers-Nos. 1 and 2 are situated on a hill in sandy soil, and No. 3 is placed near a small stream in bottom land. The depth of instruments range from 1 inch to 96 inches below tue surface, and observations are made three times each day--morning, noon, and evuing. Set No. 1, onlll. 61.2 = 60.7 59.3 58.1 58.0 60.2 61.2 64.5 65.4 Set No. 2, on Hill. Depth in Inches. ___________ Set INo. 3, in PBotl oma. 1 3 6 9 12 24 36 48 60 72 84 96._____67.7 62.2 61.4 60.6 59.2 58.4 60.1 60.1 62.6 63.8 64.0 64.6 61.lu 61.8 59.1 58.3 57.7 59.3 "60.7 61.7 65.8 ______ 258 Monthly Suimmary of Meteorological Reports of the Alabama Weather Service, November, BARDOMETER. MAX. MIN. ____TEMPERATURE. 1890. ~Nae of MAX. MIN. stations. (Counties, C Selma. Valley Head.. Pine Apple F1lorence . Ch attanooga.. Mo ntgomery.. Marion . Bermuda .. Mobile ... Carrollton ".' Auburn.. Livingston,.. Greensboro .. . Mt. Willing .. i~niontown.. Citronelle ... Fayette C H.. Opelika . Gunetersvill?. . Chepultepec. Columbiana Centre .. A 3 0Ona d ° ; A3Observers cd ° d ° Union Spr"'gs Spr'gs .. Jasper D )uble Butler... T ascumbia . Fort Piedmont.. Deposit.. 3228 8700. Dallas,... DeKalb...1:3l 34 34 3:337 .. 3135 8700. 34 48 87 37 . Laudlerdale. 21 Tennessee.783 3503 35.30 30 188 30 413 Montgomery. 219 32 22 36 23 30 168, 80 39.3 21 33 12 37 42. Perry .... .... Bullock..516 32 12 35 39. 3143 8712 .. Monroe,. 21 30 41 38 20 30 164;30 375 Mobile...30 38 03. Pickens. 21 Lee ......... 826 3240 35 30 30 224 30 565 20-22 32 34 38 08 30 190 30 170 Sumter .150 Hlale.........220 32 41 37 36. 32 0', 36 45. Lowndes . 12 28 36 44 30 140 30 380 20 Perry ... 31 03 8730. Mobile...352 33 42 83 12 .. Fayette .... 32 45 8528. .. Lce......... 34 24 36 18. Marshall .655 89 33 53 36 20). Blount .... Shelby...560 33 15 86 38. Cherokee,.28 34 10 85 42. 34 08 85 35. Winston .... 32 05 87 .. Choctaw . 310 33 49 83 12. Walker ... 34 42 87 33'.. 34 42 86 39. Lo wnde. ........... 468 Averages .. -II 53 I I I I .68 6874 82 79 8.2 1 11 l I -I 31 2 35 21. I I I I I 23 1-4 23 1 4 1 1 1-4 4 4 59 51 49 39" 51 45 45 52 48 50 53 6 3 3 5 4 1 Sw E.P.Nicholson ... 29 910 29 950 20 558 67 4 44 6 47 8 60 172 2 12-13 33 22 4 0.16 2.2 24 6 26 2C 60 3 . 3213 18 16 24 26 4 0.67 16 0.91 . 23 8 1.79 25 8 1.40 7 Nw 3' Nw " C. W. Aslicraft * L M. MLnu('li * L. Dunne 30*030 29 970 30.090 29 960 2 2 62 5... . 54 8 . 611712 51 60 8677 51 8 576708 444 59 1 ... 596984636765 507 .11.. 78 .. 39 18 30 81 81 11-12-13 36 78 11-12-16 15 81 80 9-10 81 33 29 3:3 31 32 6 8 0 6 85 17 11-12 1 ,N R. J. Grady 0 ... WM. Fowler 3 N * A. Pritchard .. M. L.Slansel. 2 E J. M. Quarles 1 'w J.W.A,Wright 1 N M. H. Yerby .... W. M. Garrett 1 NW W. H. Newman 3 .... J G Mlcnael ... Daniel Collier '0 .. A. J. Baker W. B. Allgoodl W. D, Lovett Thos. Bradtford 3 A, N. Weller B. F. Gilder .. Howard Lamar 2 Sw L. B. Thornton .... .... .... .... 55 70 39 9 80 68 74 16 25 28 27 28 55) 30 1 0 09 40 46 1.10 ... 467.... 537 7... 338 87-9.. 29 0 58 23 8 30 179 57 370.5 447j tCotton Belt Station 2531 59 18 2 *Sergeants of the United States Signal Corps.