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Southern longleaf pine disease fought with fire
244
(TURRENT TOPICS.
[J. F. I.
Southern Longleaf Pine Disease Fought With Fire.--Sanitation by fire has been found by forest pathologists of the U. S. Department of Agriculture to be the only economically feasible means of controlling the brown spot needle blight of southern longleaf pine. Extreme care must be taken, however, in the use of fire in the woods, and fire sanitation measures should be undertaken only under the direction of experts. This fungus disease defoliates the seedlings and control of it is of primary importance in perpetuating the longleaf forest type in an area approximating 9,oo0,000 acres. Technical Bulletin No. 87o, " T h e Brown Spot Needle Blight of Pine Seedlings," describes how a single ground fire in winter, in badly diseased areas, destroys a large part of the infective material. This permits retention of the needles for two growing seasons, which apparently furnishes the stimulus for vigorous height growth. The author of the bulletin, Paul V. Siggers of the Bureau of Plant Industry, Soils, and Agricultural Engineering, suggests that where there is much infective material, the burning over of pine areas to get rid of brown spot will have to be done on a large scale. Even an area of I,OOOacres may not be large enough for this purpose when surrounded by an extensive source of the disease. Such burning, however, should be done only when it is certain that adequate control is available. The facts brought out in the study, when combined with proper methods of controlled burning, are expected to provide the basis for regenerating the longleaf pine forests. R. It. O
(TURRENT TOPICS.
[J. F. I.
Southern Longleaf Pine Disease Fought With Fire.--Sanitation by fire has been found by forest pathologists of the U. S. Department of Agriculture to be the only economically feasible means of controlling the brown spot needle blight of southern longleaf pine. Extreme care must be taken, however, in the use of fire in the woods, and fire sanitation measures should be undertaken only under the direction of experts. This fungus disease defoliates the seedlings and control of it is of primary importance in perpetuating the longleaf forest type in an area approximating 9,oo0,000 acres. Technical Bulletin No. 87o, " T h e Brown Spot Needle Blight of Pine Seedlings," describes how a single ground fire in winter, in badly diseased areas, destroys a large part of the infective material. This permits retention of the needles for two growing seasons, which apparently furnishes the stimulus for vigorous height growth. The author of the bulletin, Paul V. Siggers of the Bureau of Plant Industry, Soils, and Agricultural Engineering, suggests that where there is much infective material, the burning over of pine areas to get rid of brown spot will have to be done on a large scale. Even an area of I,OOOacres may not be large enough for this purpose when surrounded by an extensive source of the disease. Such burning, however, should be done only when it is certain that adequate control is available. The facts brought out in the study, when combined with proper methods of controlled burning, are expected to provide the basis for regenerating the longleaf pine forests. R. It. O