(Sphacelotheca reiliana)
Credits: Biovision-Infonet
(c) Courtesy EcoPort: David C. Nowell
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.
What to do:
- Use resistant varieties, if available.
- Practise crop rotation.
- Eliminate volunteer host plants.