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Paper: Alternaria or Blight - Its prevalence - Can it be
successfully combated? The use of various spraying
mixtures. W. J. Beal, Ph. D., D. Sc., E. Lansing

I have written copies of what I presented to the Association
last year and I have the same illustrations here. I am not going
all over that ground, neither have I very much to say that is new.
I got into this business through the suggestions of Prof. Smith,
Director of the Experiment Station at that time. I have had no
enemies to fight in my garden. I have not been able to get any
alternaria, although I have plenty of it on some Golden Seal within
ten feet of the Ginseng. The battle is already fought. It has
been proved that there is such a thing as fighting this alternaria
successfully even after the patch has gone down. Since that has
been proven, what is the use of my trying to prove it over again?

I am very fortunate in having right here this morning, a young
man who goes about and gets groups of people together and talks
with them about spraying. He has been a successful orchardist and
I beg to introduce Mr. O. K. White who will talk to you about
nozzles and sprays.

Mr. White: I am not acquainted with this Ginseng industry,
although I have seen several small plantations, more particularly
up around Mancelona. Now in this talk on spraying, I shall not
confine myself to the Ginseng industry, but about spraying for almost
any kind of disease. As Dr. Beal has said something along
the line of spraying, I want to emphasize still more fully that the
essentials of spraying are along four lines: Proper materials
must be used, must be prepared properly and applied in the proper
way and at the proper time. Now just to go over a few of the
main sprays. First for scale, San Jose scale, or I can say safely,
any other scale or insects which you find upon your fruit trees.
You have to use a spray strong enough to kill them and consequently,
cannot put it on the trees when they have foliage on or it
will kill the foliage. Lime and sulphur are used. There are several
different ways of preparing, but the most common is in the
proportion of 15 pounds Flowers of Sulphur to 20 pounds of lime.
Stone lime is by far the best. If you use Paris Green you must put
in a small amount of lime to counteract the acid. For Fungi, to

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which class this alternaria belongs, the standard remedy is Bordeaux
mixture. The commonest way to make Bordeaux is to take
four pounds Copper Sulphate or blue vitrol and dissolve it and add
a little excess of lime, about five pounds would be best, and fifty
gallons of water. I presume, with Ginseng, it would be a good thing
when spraying if you can use a little patch and experiment with
the different strengths and thus find out what is best for your
particular location and different atmospheric conditions. In making
the Bordeaux, always have the two solutions diluted before you
put them together. That is, have a barrel of diluted Coppe Sulphate,
25 gallons, and another barrel of diluted lime, 25 gallons, and
pour together simultaneously.

Dr. Latimer: Will this solution spoil by keeping?
Mr. White: They will be all right if kept in a closed vessel so
there will be no evaporation. I should say they could be kept
three months. That is kept separately. Always use Bordeaux just
as soon as you possibly can. After it settles once you cannot get
it back into as good condition as it was.

Mr. Pierce: Is it not a good plan to disinfect the garden before
the plant comes up?

Dr. Beal: They spray the ground before the plants come
through and it is safe to spray right along whether you find alternaria
or not, spray the shade and spray the roof. It is cheaper
than to run the risk.