Place three laths so that when the laths are laid crosswise one of the laths will be in the middle and the other two, one at each end two inches from end. Can be placed at the end, but will rot sooner. Then begin at end of the three laths and nail lath on, placing them 1/2 in. apart until other end is reached, and if lath is green put closer together to allow for shrinkage. If you have many panels to make, make a table out of boards and lay strips of iron fastened to table where the three lath comes, so as to clinch nails when they strike the iron strips, which will save a lot of work. Gauges can also be placed on side of table to lay lath so they will be even at ends of panels when finished. Then lay panels in your double pieces on your garden, and if garden is not located in too windy a locality they will not blow out without nailing, and a wire drawn tight from end to end of garden on top of panels will prevent this, and is all that is necessary to hold them in place.
In Central New York, under favorable conditions, Ginseng plants should be coming up the last of April and early May, and should be in the ground by or before April 1st, to give best results. Healthy roots, taken up last of March or early April will be found covered with numerous fine hair-like rootlets. These are the feeders and have all grown from the roots during the spring. They should be well established in the soil before plants appear. Fifteen minutes exposure to the sun or wind will seriously injure and possibly destroy these fine feeders, forcing the roots to throw out a second crop of feeders.
Considering these conditions and frequent late seasons, our advice to beginners is, wait until fall for transplanting roots. But we are not considering southern conditions. Southern growers must be governed by their own experience and climatic conditions. It may be a matter of convenience sometimes for a northern grower to take up one or two year seedlings and transplant to permanent beds in spring. If conditions are favorable so the work can be done in March or early April, it may be allowable. Have ground ready before roots are taken up. Only take up a few at a time, protect from sun and wind, transplant immediately.
Spring sowing of old seed. By this we mean seed that should have been sowed the fall before when one year old, but has been kept over for spring sowing.
There is other work that can be done quite early in the Ginseng gardens. All weeds that have lived thru the winter should be pulled as soon as frost is out of ground. They can be pulled easier then than any other time and more certain of getting the weed root out. Mulching should be looked to. When coarse material like straw or leaves has been used, it should be loosened up so air can get to the soil and the plants can come up thru the mulch. If very heavy, perhaps a portion of the mulch may need to be removed, but don't! don't! take mulch all off from beds of set roots. Seed beds sown last fall will need to be removed about time plants are starting up. But seed beds should have been mulched with coarse leaf loam, or fine vegetable mulch, and well rotted horse manure (half and half), thoroughly mixed together, this mulch should have been put on as soon as seeds were sown and covered with mulch one inch deep. If this was not done last fall it should be put on this spring as soon as snow is off beds.
There is another point that needs careful attention when plants are coming up. On heavy soil plants are liable to be earth bound; this is quite likely to occur on old beds that have not been mulched and especially in dry seasons. As the Ginseng stalk comes out of the ground doubled (like an inverted U) the plant end is liable to be held fast by the hard soil, causing injury and often loss of plants. A little experience and careful observation will enable one to detect earth bound plants. The remedy is to loosen soil around the plant. A broken fork tine about eight inches long (straightened) and drive small end in a piece of broom handle about four inches long for a handle, flatten large end of tine like a screwdriver; this makes a handy tool for this work. Force it into soil near plant, give a little prying movement, at same time gently pull on plant end of stalk until you feel it loosen, do not try to pull it out, it will take care of itself when loosened. There is not likely to be any trouble, if leaves appear at the surface of soil. This little spud will be very useful to assist in pulling weed roots, such as dandelion, dock, etc.
Where movable or open shades are used, they need not be put on or closed till plants are well up; about the time leaves are out on trees is the general rule. But one must be governed to some extent by weather and local conditions. If warm and dry, with much sun, get them on early. If wet and cool, keep them off as long as practicable, but be ready to get them on as soon as needed.
I would advise a would-be grower of Ginseng to visit, if possible, some gardens of other growers and learn all they can by inquiry and observation.
In selecting a place for your garden, be sure it has good drainage, as this one feature may save you a good deal of trouble and loss from "damping off," "wilt," and other fungus diseases which originate from too damp soil.
A light, rich soil is best. My opinion is to get soil from the forest, heap up somewhere for a while thru the summer, then sift thru sand sieve or something similar, and put about two inches on top of beds you have previously prepared by spading and raking. If the soil is a little heavy some old sawdust may be mixed with it to lighten it. The woods dirt is O. K. without using any commercial fertilizers. The use of strong fertilizers and improper drying is responsible for the poor demand for cultivated root. The Chinese must have the "quality" he desires and if flavor of root is poor, will not buy.
I wonder how many readers know that Ginseng can be grown in the house? writes a New York dealer.
Take a box about 5 inches deep and any size you wish. Fill it with woods dirt or any light, rich soil. Plant roots in fall and set in cellar thru the winter. They will begin to come up about April 1st, and should then be brought out of cellar. I have tried this two seasons. Last year I kept them by a window on the north side so as to be out of the sunshine. Window was raised about one inch to give ventilation. Two plants of medium size gave me about 100 seeds.
This season I have several boxes, and plants are looking well and most of them have seed heads with berries from one-third to three-fourths grown. They have been greatly admired, and I believe I was the first in this section to try growing Ginseng as a house plant.
As to the location for a Ginseng garden, I have for the past two years been an enthusiast for cultivation in the natural forest, writes L. C. Ingram, M. D., of Minnesota. It is true that the largest and finest roots I have seen were grown in gardens under lattice, and maintaining such a garden must be taken into account when balancing your accounts for the purpose of determining the net profits, for it is really the profits we are looking for.
The soil I have found to be the best, is a rich black, having a good drain, that is somewhat rolling. As to the direction of this slope I am not particular so long as there is a rich soil, plenty of shade and mulch covering the beds.
The selection of seed and roots for planting is the most important item confronting the beginner. Considerable has been said in the past concerning the distribution among growers of Japanese seed by unscrupulous seed venders. It is a fact that Japanese Ginseng seed have been started in a number of gardens, and unless successfully stamped out before any quantity finds its way into the Chinese market, the Ginseng industry in America, stands in peril of being completely destroyed. Should they find our root mixed, their confidence would be lost and our market lost. Every one growing Ginseng must be interested in this vital point, and if they are suspicious of any of their roots being Japanese, have them passed upon by an expert, and if Japanese, every one dug.
It is a fact that neighboring gardens are in danger of being mixed, as the bees are able to do this in carrying the mixing pollen. The safest way to make a start is by procuring seed and roots from the woods wild in your own locality. If this cannot be done then the seed and roots for a start should be procured from a reliable party near you who can positively guarantee the seed and roots to be genuine American Ginseng. We should not be too impatient and hasty to extend the garden or launch out in a great way. Learn first, then increase as the growth of new seed will permit.
The next essential thing is the proper preparation of the soil for the planting of the seeds and roots. The soil must be dug deep and worked perfectly loose same as any bed in a vegetable garden. The beds are made four or five feet wide and raised four to six inches above the paths, which are left one and a half to two feet wide. I have had seed sown on the ground and covered with dirt growing beside seed planted in well made beds and the contrast in size and the thriftiness of roots are so great when seen, never to be forgotten. The seedlings growing in the hard ground were the size of oat kernels, those in the beds beside them three to nine inches long and weighing from four to ten times as much per root.
In planting the seed all that is necessary is to scatter the stratified seed on top of the prepared bed so they will be one or two inches apart, then cover with loose dirt from the next bed then level with back of garden rake. They should be one-half to one inch covered. Sawdust or leaves should next be put on one to two inches for a top dressing to preserve moisture, regulate heat, and prevent the rains from packing the soil.
The best time to do all planting is in the spring. This gives the most thrifty plants with the least number missing. When the plants are two years old they must be transplanted into permanent beds. These are prepared in the same manner as they were for the seed. A board six inches wide is thrown across the bed, you step on this and with a spade throw out a ditch along the edge of the board. In this the roots are set on a slant of 45 degrees and so the bud will be from one to two inches beneath the surface. The furrow is then filled and the board moved its width. By putting the roots six inches apart in the row and using a six-inch board your plants will be six inches each way, which with most growers have given best results. When the roots have grown three years in the transplanted beds they should be ready to dig and dry for market. They should average two ounces each at this time if the soil was rich in plant food and properly prepared and cared for.
The plants require considerable care and attention thru each summer. Moles must be caught, blight and other diseases treated and the weeds pulled, especially from among the younger plants. As soon as the plants are up in the spring the seed buds should be clipped from all the plants except those finest and healthiest plants you may save for your seed to maintain your garden. The clipping of the seed buds is very essential, because we want the very largest and best flavored root in the shortest time for the market. Then if we grow bushels of seed to the expense of the root, it is only a short time when many thousands of pounds of root must compete with our own for the market and lower the price.
In several years experience growing Ginseng, says a well known grower, I have had no trouble from blight when I shade and mulch enough to keep the soil properly cool, or below 65 degrees, as you will find the temperature in the forests, where the wild plants grow best, even during summer days.
Some years ago I allowed the soil to get too warm, reaching 70 degrees or more. The blight attacked many plants then. This proved to me that growing the plants under the proper temperature has much to do with blight.
When fungus diseases get upon wild plants, that is plants growing in the forest, in most cases it can be traced to openings, forest fires and the woodman's ax. This allows too much sun to strike the plants and ground in which they are growing. If those engaged, or about to engage, in Ginseng growing will study closely the conditions under which the wild plants flourish best, they can learn much that they will only find out after years of experimenting.
Mr. L. E. Turner in a recent issue of "Special Crops" says: We cannot depend on shade alone to keep the temperature of the soil below 65 degrees — the shade would have to be almost total. In order to allow sufficient light and yet keep the temperature down, we must cover the ground with a little mulch. The more thoroughly the light is diffused the better for the plants. Now, when we combine sufficient light with say one-half inch of clean mulch, we are supplying to the plants their natural environment, made more perfect in that it is everywhere alike.
The mulch is as essential to the healthy growth of the Ginseng plant as clothing is to the comfort and welfare of man; it can thrive without it no more than corn will grow well with it. These are plants of opposite nature. Use the mulch and reduce the shade to the proper density. The mulch is of the first importance, for the plants will do much better with the mulch and little shade than without mulch and with plenty of shade.
Ginseng is truly and wholly a savage. We can no more tame it than we can the partridge. We can lay out a preserve and stock it with Ginseng as we would with partridges, but who would stock a city park with partridges and expect them to remain there? We cannot make a proper Ginseng preserve under conditions halfway between a potato patch and a wild forest, but this is exactly the trouble with a large share of Ginseng gardens. They are just a little too much like the potato patch to be exactly suited to the nature of Ginseng. The plant cannot thrive and remain perfectly healthy under these conditions; we may apply emulsions and physic, but we will find it to be just like a person with an undermined constitution, it will linger along for a time subject to every disease that is in the air and at last some new and more subtle malady will, in spite of our efforts, close its earthly career.
Kind readers, I am in a position to know thoroughly whereof I write, for I have been intimate for many years with the wild plants and with every shade of condition under which they manage to exist. I have found them in the valley and at the hilltop, in the tall timber and the brambled "slashing," but in each place were the necessary conditions of shade and mulch. The experienced Ginseng hunter comes to know by a kind of instinct just where he will find the plant and he does not waste time searching in unprofitable places. It is because he understands its environment. It is the environment he seeks — the Ginseng is then already found. The happy medium of condition under which it thrives best in the wild state form the process of healthy culture.
Mr. Wm E. Mowrer, of Missouri, is evidently not in favor of the cloth shading. I think if he had thoroughly water-proofed the cloth it would have withstood the action of the weather much better. It would have admitted considerably less light and if he had given enough mulch to keep the soil properly cool and allowed space enough for ventilation, he would not have found the method so disastrous. We will not liken his trial to the potato patch, but to the field where tobacco is started under canvas. A tent is a cool place if it is open at the sides and has openings in the top and the larger the tent the cooler it will be. Ginseng does splendidly under a tent if the tent is built expressly with regard to the requirements of Ginseng.
In point of cheapness a vine shading is yet ahead of the cloth system. The wild cucumber vine is best for this purpose, for it is exactly suited by nature to the conditions in a Ginseng garden. It is a native of moist, shady places, starts early, climbs high and rapidly. The seeds may be planted five or six in a "hill" in the middle of the beds, if preferred, at intervals of six or seven feet, and the vines may be trained up a small pole to the arbor frame. Wires, strings or boughs may be laid over the arbor frame for the vines to spread over. If the shade becomes too dense some of the vines may be clipped off and will soon wither away. Another advantage of the wild cucumber is that it is very succulent, taking an abundance of moisture and to a great extent guards against excessive dampness in the garden. The vines take almost no strength from the soil. The exceeding cheapness of this method is the great point in its favor. It is better to plant a few too many seeds than not enough, for it is easy to reduce the shade if too dense, but difficult to increase it in the summer if too light.
This disease threatens seriously to handicap us in the raising of Ginseng, says a writer in "Special Crops." It does down, but is giving us trouble all over the country. No section seems to be immune from it, tho all seem to be spraying more or less. I know of several good growers whose gardens have gone down during the last season and this, and they state that they began early and sprayed late, but to no decided benefit. What are we to do? Some claim to have perfect success with spraying as their supposed prevention.
Three years ago I began to reason on this subject and in my rambles in the woods, I have watched carefully for this disease, as well as others on the wild plant, and while I have now and then noted a wild plant that was not entirely healthy, I have never seen any evidence of blight or other real serious disease. The wild plant usually appears ideally healthy, and while they are smaller than we grow in our gardens, they are generally strikingly healthful in color and general appearance. Why is this so? And why do we have such a reverse of things among our gardens?
I will offer my ideas on the subject and give my theories of the causes of the various diseases and believe that they are correct and time will prove it. At least I hope these efforts of mine will be the means of helping some who are having so much trouble in the cultivation of Ginseng. The old saw that the "proof of the pudding is in chewing the bag," may be amply verified by a visit to my gardens to show how well my theories have worked so far. I will show you Ginseng growing in its highest state of perfection and not a scintilla of blight or any species of alternaria in either of them, while around me I scarcely know of another healthy garden.
To begin with, moisture is our greatest enemy; heat next; the two combined at the same time forming the chief cause for most diseases of the plant.
If the soil in our gardens could be kept only slightly moist, as it is in the woods, and properly shaded, ventilated and mulched, I am sure such a thing as blight and kindred diseases would never be known. The reason for this lies in the fact that soil temperature is kept low and dry. The roots, as is well known, go away down in the soil, because the temperature lower down is cooler than at the surface.
Here is where mulch plays so important a part because it protects the roots from so much heat that finds its way between the plants to the top of the beds. The mulch acts as a blanket in keeping the heat out and protecting the roots thereby. If any one doubts this, just try to raise the plants without mulch, and note how some disease will make its appearance. The plant will stand considerable sun, however, with heavy enough mulch. And the more sun it can take without harm, the better the root growth will be. Too much shade will show in a spindling top and slender leaves, and invariable smallness of root growth, for, let it be borne in mind always, that the plant must derive more or less food from the top, and it is here that the fungi in numerous forms proceed to attack.
The plant will not grow in any other atmosphere but one surcharged with all kinds of fungi. This is the natural environment of the plant and the only reason why the plants do not all become diseased lies in the plain fact that its vitality is of such a high character that it can resist the disease, hence the main thing in fighting disease is to obtain for the plant the best possible hygienic surroundings and feed it with the best possible food and thus nourish it to the highest vitality.
I am a firm believer in spraying of the proper kind, but spraying will not keep a plant free from disease with other important conditions lacking. Spraying, if heavily applied, is known as a positive injury to the plant, despite the fact that many claim it is not, and the pity is we should have to resort to it in self-defense. The pores of the leaflets are clogged up to a greater or less extent with the deposited solution and the plant is dependent to this extent of its power to breathe.
Coat a few plants very heavily with spray early in the season and keep it on and note how the plants struggle thru the middle of a hot day to get their breath. Note that they have a sluggish appearance and are inclined to wilt. These plants are weakened to a great extent and if an excess of moisture and heat can get to them, they will perhaps die down. Another thing: Take a plant that is having a hard time to get along and disturb the root to some extent and in a day or two notice spots come upon it and the leaves begin to show a wilting. Vitality disturbed again.
The finest plants I have ever found in the woods were growing about old logs and stumps, where the soil was heavily enriched with decaying wood. A good cool spot, generally, and more or less mulch, and if not too much shade present. Where the shade was too dense the roots were always small. I have in some instances found some very fine roots growing in the midst of an old stump with no other soil save the partially rotted stump dirt, showing thus that Ginseng likes decaying wood matter. Upon learning this, I obtained several loads of old rotten sawdust, preferably white oak or hickory and my bed in my gardens is covered at least two inches with it under the leaf mulch. This acts as a mulch and natural food at one and the same time. The leaves decay next to the soil and thus we supply leaf mold.
This leaf mold is a natural requirement of the plant and feeds it also constantly. A few more leaves added each fall keep up the process and in this way we are keeping the plant wild, which we must do to succeed with it, for Ginseng can not be greatly changed from its nature without suffering the consequences. This is what is the matter now with so many of us. Let's go back to nature and stay there, and disease will not give us so much trouble again.
One more chief item I forgot to mention was the crowding of the plants together. The smaller plants get down under the larger and more vigorous and have a hard struggle for existence. The roots do not make much progress under these conditions, and these plants might as well not be left in the beds. And also note that under those conditions the beds are badly ventilated and if any plants are found to be sickly they will be these kind. I shall plant all my roots henceforth at least ten inches apart each way and give them more room for ventilation and nourishment. They get more chance to grow and will undoubtedly make firm root development and pay largely better in the end. Corn cannot be successfully cultivated in rows much narrower than four feet apart and about two stalks to the hill. All farmers know if the hills are closer and more stalks to the hill the yield will be much less.
At this point I would digress to call attention to the smallness of root development in the woods, either wild or cultivated, because the trees and tree roots sap so much substance from the soil and other weeds and plants help to do the same thing. The shade is not of the right sort, too dense or too sparse in places, and the plants do not make quick growth enough to justify the growing under such conditions, and while supposed to be better for health of plants, does not always prove to be the case. I have seen some gardens under forest shade that blighted as badly as any gardens.
So many speak of removing the leaves and mulch in the spring from the beds. Now, this is absolutely wrong, because the mulch and leaves keep the ground from becoming packed by rains, preserves an even moisture thru the dry part of the season and equalizes the temperature. Temperature is as important as shade and the plants will do better with plenty of mulch and leaves on the beds and considerable sun than with no mulch, dry hard beds and the ideal shade. Roots make but little growth in dry, hard ground. Pull your weeds out by hand and protect your garden from the seng digger thru the summer and that will be your cultivation until September or October when you must transplant your young roots into permanent beds, dig and dry the mature roots.
The following is from an article on "The Alternaria Blight of Ginseng" by H. H. Whetzel, of Cornell University, showing that the author is familiar with the subject:
The pioneer growers of Ginseng thought they had struck a "bonanza." Here was a plant that seemed easily grown, required little attention after it was once planted, was apparently free from all diseases to which cultivated plants are heir and was, besides, extremely valuable. Their first few crops bore out this supposition. No wonder that a "Ginseng craze" broke out and that men sat up nights to figure out on paper the vast fortunes that were bound to accrue to those who planted a few hundred seeds at three cents each and sold the roots in five years at $12.00 a pound.
Like many other grow-wealthy-while-you-wait schemes, nature herself imposed a veto. Diseases began to appear. The prospective fortune shrunk, frequently dried up and blew away or rotted and disappeared in the earth. Several factors contributed to this result:
1. The removal of a wild plant from its natural habitat to an entirely artificial one.
2. The encouragement by the application of manures and cultivation of a rapidity of growth to which the plant was by inheritance an entire stranger, thus weakening its constitution and depriving it of its natural ability to withstand disease. Cultivated roots in three years from the seed attain greater size than they often would in twenty years in the woods.
3. The failure in many cases to provide conditions in any degree approximating the natural habitat, as, for example, the failure to supply proper drainage that is in nature provided by the forest trees whose roots constantly remove the excess of rainfall.
4. The crowding of a large number of plants into a small area. This, in itself, is more responsible for disease epidemics than perhaps any other factor.
Of all the twelve or fifteen, now more or less known, diseases of this plant one in particular stands out asthe diseaseof Ginseng. Altho one of the latest to make its appearance, it has in three or four years spread to nearly every garden in this state and its ravages have been most severe. This disease is the well known Alternaria Blight.
The disease manifests itself in such a variety of ways, depending upon the parts of the plant attacked, that it is difficult to give a description by which it may always be identified. It is usually the spotting of the foliage that first attracts the grower's attention. If examined early in the morning the diseased spots are of a darker green color and watery as if scalded. They dry rapidly, becoming papery and of a light brown color, definite in outline and very brittle. With the return of moist conditions at night the disease spreads from the margin of the spot into the healthy tissue. The disease progresses rapidly so that in a very few days the entire leaf succumbs, wilts and hangs limp from the stalk. If the weather is wet, the progress of the disease is often astonishing, an entire garden going down in a day or two. Under such conditions the leaves may show few or no spots becoming thruout of a dark watery green and drooping as if dashed with scalding water. All parts of the top may be affected. The disease never reaches the roots, affecting them only indirectly.
The disease is the result of the growth of a parasitic fungus in the tissues of the Ginseng. This fungus is an Alternaria (species not yet determined) as is at once evident from an examination of its spores. These are in size and form much like those of the early Blight Alternaria of Potato. These spores falling upon any part of the plant above the ground will, if moisture be present, germinate very quickly, sending out germ tubes which pierce the epidermis of the host. These mycelium threads ramify thru the tissues of the leaf or stem as the case may be, causing death of the cells. From the mycelium that lies near or on the surface arise clusters or short brown stalks or conidiophores on the apex of which the spores are borne in short chains. The spores mature quickly and are scattered to healthy plants, resulting in new infections. Only one form of spores, the conidial, is at present known.
That the Alternaria is a true parasite and the cause of the disease there can be no doubt. The fungus is constantly associated with the disease. Inoculation experiments carried on in the botanical laboratory this summer show conclusively that the germ tube of the spore can penetrate the epidermis of healthy Ginseng leaves and stems and by its growth in such healthy tissue cause the characteristic spots of the disease. This is of special interest as it adds another to the list of parasitic species of genus long supposed to contain only saprophytes.
Upon the general appearance of so destructive a disease, one of the first questions of the growers was "where did it come from?" Believing that it was a natural enemy of the wild plant, now grown over powerful under conditions highly unnatural to Ginseng, I undertook to find proof of my theory. I visited a wooded hillside where wild Ginseng was still known to exist. After half a day's diligent search I obtained seventeen plants of different ages, one of which showed spots of the Blight. Examination with the microscope showed mycelium and spores of the Alternaria. Unfortunately I did not get pure cultures of the fungus from this plant and so could not by cross inoculations demonstrate absolutely the identity of the Alternaria on the wild plant with that of the cultivated. So far, however, as character of the spots on the leaves, size and form of the spores are concerned, they are the same. This, I believe, answers the question of the source of the disease. Introduced into gardens on wild plants brought from the woods, it has spread rapidly under conditions most favorable to its development; namely, those pointed out in the earlier part of this paper.
The wind, I believe, is chiefly responsible for the dissemination of the spores which are very small and light. Not only does the wind carry the spores from plant to plant thruout the garden, but no doubt frequently carries them for longer distances to gardens near by. The spores are produced most abundantly under conditions favorable to such dissemination. During moist, cloudy weather the energies of the fungus are devoted to vegetative growth, the spreading of the mycelium in the host tissues. With the advent of bright sunny days and dry weather mycelium growth is checked and spore formation goes on rapidly. These spores are distributed when dry and retain their vitality for a long period. Spores from dried specimens in the laboratory have been found to germinate after several months when placed in water. The disease might also be very readily carried by spores clinging to the roots or seeds, or possibly even by the mycelium in the seeds themselves. The fungus very probably winters in the old leaves and stems or in the mulch, living as a saprophyte and producing early in the spring a crop of spores from which the first infections occur.
Altho it is on the foliage that the disease first attracts the attention of the grower, it is not here that it really makes its first appearance in the spring. The stem is the first part of the plant to come thru the soil and it is the stem that is first affected. The disease begins to show on the stems very shortly after they are thru the soil, evident first as a rusty, yellow spot usually a short distance above the surface of the soil or mulch. The spot rapidly increases in size, becomes brown and finally nearly black from the multitude of spores produced on its surface. The tissue of the stem at the point of attack is killed and shrinks, making a canker or rotten strip up the side of the stem. Such stems show well developed leaves and blossom heads giving no evidence of the disease beneath. Occasionally, however, the fungus weakens the stem so that it breaks over. Growers have occasionally observed this "stem rot" but have never connected it with the disease on the leaves later in the season.
It is from the spores produced on these cankers on the stem that the leaves become infected. The disease begins to appear on the leaves some time in July and by the middle of August there is usually little foliage alive. Infection frequently occurs at the point where the five leaflets are attached to the common petiole. The short leaf stems are killed causing the otherwise healthy leaflets to droop and wilt. This manifestation of the disease has not generally been attributed to the Alternaria. The seedlings are frequently affected in the same way causing what is sometimes known as the "top blight of seedlings."
From the diseased leaves and stems the spores of the fungus find their way to the seed heads which at this time are rapidly filling out by the growth of the berries. The compact seed heads readily retain moisture, furnishing most favorable conditions for the germination of any spores that find their way into the center of the head. That this is the usual course of seed head infection is shown by the fact that it is the base of the berry on which the spots start. These spots, of a rusty yellow color, gradually spread all over the seed which finally becomes shriveled and of a dark brown or black color. Spores in abundance are formed on the diseased berries. Affected berries "shell" from the head at the slightest touch. This manifestation of the disease has long been known as "seed blast." If the berries have begun to color the injury from the disease will probably be very slight. The "blasting" of the green berries, however, will undoubtedly reduce or destroy the vitality of the seed. There is a strong probability that the fungus may be carried over in or on the seed.
The roots are only indirectly affected by this disease. The fungus never penetrates to them. Roots from diseased tops will grow perfectly normal and healthy plants the following season. It is in the leaves of the plant that practically all of the substance of the root is made. The bulk of this substance is starch. The destruction of the foliage, the manufacturing part of the plant, long before it would normally die means of course some reduction in the growth and starch content of the root. However, it seems probable that the greater portion of root growth is made before the blight attacks the foliage. This seems borne out by the fact that even blighted seedlings usually show nearly as good growth and bud development as those not blighted. In the case of older plants this is probably much more true as the latter part of the season is devoted largely to growing and maturing the berries. The Alternaria blight is dreaded chiefly because of its destructive effects on the seed crop.
The first experimental work on the control of this disease so far as I know, was carried out by Dr. I. C. Curtis of Fulton, N. Y. Having suffered the total loss of foliage and seed crop during the season of 1904, Dr. Curtis determined to test the efficacy of the Bordeaux mixture the following season as a preventive of the blight. The success of his work, together with this method of making and applying the mixture is given by him in Special Crops for January, 1906.
Extensive experiments in spraying were carried out during the past season by the Ginseng Company at Rose Hill, N. Y., under the direction of the writer. During 1905 their entire seed crop was completely destroyed by the blight. Losses from the same disease the previous season had been very heavy. During 1905 they had succeeded in saving a very large proportion of their seedlings by spraying them with the Bordeaux mixture. Encouraged by this they began spraying early in the spring of 1906, just when the plant began to come thru the ground. This was repeated nearly every week during the season, the entire ten acres being sprayed each time. On account of poor equipment the earlier sprayings were not as thoroughly done as they should have been, and some disease appeared on the stalks here and there thruout the gardens. A new pump and nozzles were soon installed and all parts of the plant completely covered. Practically no blight ever appeared on the foliage. There was some loss from "blast of seed heads" due to a failure to spray the seed heads thoroughly while they were filling out. The seed heads Were doubtless infected from the diseased stalks that had not been removed from the garden. A very large seed crop was harvested. The formula of the Bordeaux used at Rose Hill was about 4-6-40, to each one hundred gallons of which was added a "sticker" made as follows:
Two pounds resin. One pound sal soda (Crystals). One gallon water.
Boiled together in an iron kettle until of a clear brown color. It is probable that more applications of Bordeaux were given than was necessary, especially during the middle part of the season when little new growth was being made.
From these experiments it is evident that the problem of the control of the Alternaria Blight of Ginseng has been solved. Thorough spraying with Bordeaux mixture begun when the plants first come thru the ground and repeated often enough to keep all new growths covered, will insure immunity from the blight. Thoroughness is the chief factor in the success of this treatment. It is, however, useless to begin spraying after the disease has begun to appear on the foliage.
Gentlemen — In response to a request from your secretary, I was sent early in August to investigate your Ginseng gardens, and, if possible, to give some help in checking a destructive disease which had recently appeared and had in a short time ruined much of the crop. Thru the aid of some of your association, at the time of my visit to Houston, and since that time, I have been furnished with valuable data and specimens of diseased plants.
The summer of 1904 was marked by a very abundant rainfall. The shade of the arbors kept the soil beneath them moist, if not wet, for several weeks at a time. This moist soil, rich in humus and other organic substances, formed an exceedingly favorable place for the growth of fungi. Gardens under dense shade with poor drainage, suffered the greatest loss. All ages of plants were attacked and seemed to suffer alike, if the conditions were favorable for the growth of fungi.
Between the first and the fifteenth of May black spots having the appearance of scars appeared on the stems of the Ginseng plants. All ages of plants were attacked. The scars increased in number and grew in size, sometimes encircling the stem.
The first indication of injury was seen when one leaflet after another turned brown; from them the disease spread down the petiole to the main stalk. Other stalks were attacked so badly that they broke off and fell over before the upper portions had even become withered. After the loss of the top from this disease the crown of the root was liable to be attacked by fungi or bacteria, causing decay. I found little of this in the gardens at Houston. The greatest loss caused by this disease lies in the destruction of the seed crop.
I have succeeded in isolating and studying the fungus which causes this disease. The fungus belongs to the genus Vermicularia and occurs on a number of our common herbaceous plants. I found it near Columbia this autumn on the Indian turnip. The fungus lives beneath the epidermis of the Ginseng plant; breaking the epidermis to form the black scars in which the spores, or reproductive bodies, are produced. The spores when ripe are capable of germinating and infecting other plants.
Fortunately this disease can be effectually checked by the use of Bordeaux spraying mixture.
Another source of loss was in the damping-off of young plants. The fungus which causes this disease lives in the surface layer of the soil and girdles the plants at the surface layer of the ground, causing them to wilt and fall over. The trouble can be largely avoided by proper drainage and stirring the surface layer, thus aerating and drying the soil.
By far the most destructive and dangerous disease remains to be described. It made its appearance about the first week in July, causing the leaves to turn yellow and dry up; the seed stem and berries also dried up and died before reaching maturity. This was the disease which caused the greatest loss; whole plantations often being destroyed in a week. Neither the Bordeaux spraying mixture nor lime dust seemed to check its ravages.
I have succeeded in isolating the fungus which is the cause of this destructive disease and have grown it in the laboratory in pure cultures for nearly five months. Cultures were made by scraping the dark spots on diseased stems with a sterile needle and inoculating sterilized bean pods or plugs of potato with the spores scraped from the stem. In two or three days a white, fluffy growth appears on the bean pod which rapidly spreads until it is covered with a growth which resembles a luxuriant mould. I have also isolated this fungus and made cultures from the soil taken from diseased beds.
The fungus belongs to the genus Fusarium and is probably identical with the fungus which is so destructive in causing the wilt of cotton, watermelon and cowpeas, and which has been carefully studied by Smith and Orton of the United States Department of Agriculture.
It will be seen from this brief description of the fungus that it is an exceedingly difficult disease to combat. Living from year to year in the soil it enters the plants thru the roots and spreads upward thru the water-conducting channels. It does not once appear on the surface until the plant is beyond recovery. Obviously we cannot apply any substance to kill the fungus without first killing the plant it infests.
There is but one conclusion to be drawn, viz.: That application of fungicides will not prevent the wilt disease.
There are, however, two methods of procedure in combating the disease: First, the use of precautions against allowing the fungus to get started; second, the selection and breeding of varieties which will withstand the disease.
From the very first the arbor should be kept free from all possible infection by the wilt fungus.
Gardens should be small and located some little distance apart, then if one becomes infected with the disease it can be taken up before the disease infests a larger territory. If the roots have reached merchantable size they had best be dried and sold, since they are likely to carry the disease when transplanted. If they are transplanted they should be carefully cleaned and reset without bruising.
Proper drainage is very necessary for a successful Ginseng garden. It is advisable to locate the garden on a gentle slope if possible. In all cases the ground should be well drained.
The belief of many that the death of the Ginseng was due to the wet season was without foundation, because the fungus develops best in soil which is continually moist and shady. This also accounts for the well-known fact that all rots, mildews and rusts are worse in a rainy season than in a dry one.