George Percy Darnell-Smith (1868–1942) was the second plant pathologist appointed to the New South Wales Department of Agriculture. Although he founded the Microbiology Branch (later Plant Pathology Branch) and wrote articles on many plant diseases, his noteworthy contribution was developing the ‘dry pickle’ treatment for common bunt of wheat during the 1910s. Darnell-Smith built on the knowledge gained over the previous 150 years on this disease. Common bunt was the first disease—plant, animal or human—whose cause and disease cycle were found. Mathieu Tillet pioneered scientific study of plant disease with his work on bunt in the 1750s. His microscopic examination showed that minute spores infected wheat seedlings leading to bunt developing in place of wheat seeds. His field experiments found that ‘pickling’ seed with copper solutions and other toxic chemicals prevented the disease. Farmers and researchers refined these wet treatments but they remained tedious to use and reduced seed germination and seedling emergence. Darnell-Smith developed an improved treatment with copper carbonate dust that gave effective control of both seed- and soil-borne inoculum. He patented a simple machine for on-farm use. His treatment had advantages over the wet pickles, being much simpler to apply and not affecting seed germination. After confirmation in the United States of America in the early 1920s, the treatment was rapidly adopted there and in other countries where by 1930 it had reduced bunt from a common disease to one rarely seen. Darnell-Smith said that he chose to work with copper carbonate based on studies by F. C. Clark in the United States of America. However, the German scientist Carl von Tubeuf had described its effectiveness as a dry powder against bunt in 1902. Darnell-Smith lectured in England before moving to Australia so it is possible that he knew of this work. Perhaps the considerable anti-German feeling in Australia during World War I dissuaded Darnell-Smith from acknowledging von Tubeuf.

乔治·珀西·达内尔·史密斯（George Percy Darnell-Smith，1868-1942 年）是新南威尔士州农业部任命的第二位植物病理学家。尽管他创立了微生物学分部（后来的植物病理学分部）并撰写了有关许多植物病害的文章，但他值得注意的贡献是在 1910 年代开发了针对常见小麦短打的“干泡菜”治疗方法。达内尔-史密斯 (Darnell-Smith) 建立在过去 150 年关于这种疾病的知识基础上。普通短打病是第一种被发现原因和疾病周期的植物、动物或人类疾病。Mathieu Tillet 在 1750 年代通过短打研究开创了植物病害科学研究的先河。他的显微镜检查显示，微小的孢子感染了小麦幼苗，导致小麦种子发育成短短毛。他的田间实验发现，用铜溶液和其他有毒化学物质“腌制”种子可以预防这种疾病。农民和研究人员改进了这些湿处理方法，但它们使用起来仍然很乏味，并且减少了种子发芽和幼苗出苗。达内尔-史密斯开发了一种改进的碳酸铜粉尘处理方法，可以有效控制种子传播和土壤传播的接种物。他为一种适合农场使用的简单机器申请了专利。他的处理方法比湿泡菜有优势，使用起来更简单，而且不影响种子发芽。20 年代初在美国得到证实后，该治疗方法迅速在美国和其他国家采用，到 1930 年，该疗法已将短打病从一种常见疾病减少为一种罕见疾病。达内尔-史密斯表示，他选择使用碳酸铜是基于美国 FC Clark 的研究。然而，德国科学家 Carl von Tubeuf 在 1902 年将其功效描述为对抗短打的干粉。达内尔-史密斯在移居澳大利亚之前曾在英国讲学，因此他可能知道这项工作。也许第一次世界大战期间澳大利亚强烈的反德情绪阻止了达内尔·史密斯承认冯·图福夫。