Florida Agricultural Experiment Station


roots should be cut off flush with the root-crown and all diseased
bark and roots cut out should be collected and burned to check
further spread of the causal organism. All wounds and exposed
wood surfaces should be treated with some good, safe disinfect-
ant, such as bordeaux paste or lime-sulphur paste. The disin-
fectant may be applied with a brush or, if made sufficiently






















Fig. 19.-Foot rot on sweet orange tree budded low on sour orange stock,
 showing method of removing dirt for treating diseased areas. This
 tree should have been treated, however, before it became so nearly
 girdled.

thin, with a small spraying outfit. All exposed wood surfaces
should be painted later with a good waterproof wound dressing
to prevent the entrance of wood-boring insects and decay-produc-
ing organisms. It is advisable to leave the root-crowns of treated
trees exposed for several weeks, months, or even indefinitely,
provided there is no danger from freezing. This aeration will
allow the bark of the root-crown and the soil about it to dry out,
which will assist in killing out the causal organism and in re-
tarding its subsequent development. Frequently, the mere re-
moval of the soil from immediately around the base of the trunk,
leaving the crown roots exposed, will suffice to check the further
development of foot rot. The exposure method, however, is not