Florida Agricultural Experiment Station


times only along one side or at the tip, other times completely
around the margin of the blade. The band is usually quite wide,
seldom less than 1/4 inch and often an inch wide. This injury is
quite common and is usually found early in the year during the
cooler part of the season. None of these particular injuries have
been found to be serious in any way and can readily be over-
looked as causes for reduced yield.
 The question does arise, however, whether or not there is injury
to the blossoms by Bordeaux spray. Some injury is probably
caused by too much pressure by which the flowers are actually
blown off the vines. It may be that the spray itself kills the
pollen before fertilization takes place or it may be that the Bor-
deaux mixture acts as a repellant to the insects which act as pollen
carriers and agents in fertilization.

 SEED DISINFECTION

 Seed disinfection is recommended to all cucumber growers and
it should be practiced with every planting. The process is easy
and takes only a short time. The results are profitable. In treat-
ing the seed all pathogenic organisms adhering to the seed, such
as bacteria and fungi, are killed. The seed themselves are not
harmed and will germinate as quickly and produce as strong
plants as ones which have not been treated.
 The disinfection process is as follows: Place the seed in a
cloth bag, tie the top securely, leaving plenty of space in the bag
for the seed, for instance twice as much room as the seed occupy.
Submerge the bag of seed in a solution of corrosive sublimate,
strength 1:1,000, for 10 minutes. During this time it is well to
move the bag around in the solution, using a short stick. This
will insure all seed coming in contact with the disinfectant and
will remove air bubbles. After the 10-minute period is up, remove
the bag of seed from the disinfectant and rinse in several changes
of clear water. After the seed are thoroughly rinsed, spread them
out in the shade to dry. When dry the seed are ready to plant.
The seed might be planted wet except that they are more diffi-
cult to handle.
 The vessel used to contain the disinfectant should not be of
metal because some of the mercury in the corrosive sublimate
unites with the metal, thus weakening the solution. Instead use
earthenware crocks or wooden containers such as pails and half
barrels.