Featured Photo
Other Photos
featured_photo_title
Head smut on maize
feaured_photo_co
David C. Nowell. Courtesy of www.ecoport.org
Is this a Minor Pest?
Yes
Minor Pest Title
Head smut (Sphacelotheca reiliana)
Minor Pest Description
The first symptoms become evident when tassels and cobs (ears) appear. These parts may be completely or partly converted into smut galls. Smut galls are initially covered by a delicate membrane that breaks open and exposes a mass of reddish-brown to black spores and strands of vascular tissue. The strands or fibres in the galls distinguish this disease from common smut. Head smut is seed-borne.
Minor Pest What to do.
- Use resistant varieties, if available.
- Practise crop rotation.
- Eliminate volunteer host plants.
Minor Pest Position
9
Minor Pest Firstcontent
123
Pest Type
fungal
Host Plants
Maize
Featured Image
PH Pests Media Gallery