Fungus Diseases

Asparagus is subject to the attacks of a number of fungi, the most

widespread and destructive being the "rust," the cause of which is a

fungus described by De Candolle as Puccinia asparagi in the year 1805.

From this it is seen that the rust upon the asparagus has been known to

scientists for nearly a hundred years, and it is but reasonable to

suppose that more or less of this fungus has existed beyond the history

of man.



The first mention of asparagus rust in the United States was by Dr.

Harkness, who claimed to have observed it on the Pacific Coast in 1880,

although it is doubtful whether the genuine asparagus rust was ever

found there. The first mention of it in the Eastern States was in the

fall of 1896, and since then its range has been widening each year. Dr.

Byron D. Halsted, of the New Jersey Experiment Station, was the first to

call attention to it, and made it the subject of careful study. The

results and conclusions derived from his experiments were published in a

special bulletin, and from this the greater part of the following has

been condensed.