Kromnek Disease

Abstract

Attention is called to the virus disease, known in South Africa as Kromnek, since there is good reason for believing that it has become established in the south-west of Tanganyika Territory. Until now the disease on this Continent has been confined to South Africa and Southern Rhodesia: The evidence for its presence in Tanganyika is based on observations made in the Southern Highlands Province earlier this year, where two plants of tobacco and two fields of sunflower showed symptoms indistinguishable from those of kromnek. Because of the serious nature of that disease it is considered advisable not to wait for full confirmation of the nature of the disease in these crops, but to issue this warning, particularly to farmers and gardeners in the affected area and to prospective importers of plants from there. During the past year herbaceous ornamental plants have not been allowed entry into East Africa from countries in which the disease is endemic, in an endeavor to keep out the disease.