2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Dust smut attacks corn mainly in the southern areas of its cultivation, but it is often possible to meet this scourge in regions that are distinguished by warm springs and rather hot summers. Usually, this ailment attacks corn cobs and panicles with inflorescences. Infected panicles gradually become a dusty black mass, and the ears turn into cone-shaped black clumps of filaments and fungal spores. At the same time, the spores are firmly retained among the fibers until the time of maize ripening. Plants attacked by a dusty smut decently bush, noticeably lag behind in growth and look ugly
A few words about the disease
Corn panicles affected by the harmful disease become covered with a dusty and rather loose mass, and the ears quickly become a continuous and long black lump-nodule. Such formations are accumulations of fungal spores and corn fibers. The wrappers on the infected ears are noticeably shortened. By the time corn enters the milky stage, they turn yellow, dry out and open.
There is also a latent form of dust smut, in which the development of the pathogen is latent in plants. This, in turn, has a depressing effect on the growing season of growing crops, which are strongly bushy, noticeably underdeveloped and practically do not form cobs.
The causative agent of dust smut is considered to be a harmful fungus called Sphacelotheca reiliana, which can accumulate in the soil for many years and at the same time do not manifest itself at all. And as soon as favorable conditions are created for its development, this mushroom can lead to a real epidemic.
Teliospores of the aforementioned fungus, often gathering in glomeruli and capable of persisting for a long time in the soil, are the primary source of infection. They are often found on the surface of the caryopses. The very process of infection usually occurs during the germination of seeds in the soil, until the moment when two or three leaves are formed. If this stage lasts longer, then the plants will be much more infected. On plots with permanent corn cultivation, it is easy to lose from fifteen to twenty percent of the harvest, and sometimes losses can reach forty percent. This usually happens when varieties and hybrids that are not resistant to head smut are grown in the same area for several years in a row.
The most intensely harmful fungal spores begin to germinate at very moderate humidity and temperatures ranging from twenty-eight to thirty degrees. If, at the stage of corn germination, the soil is characterized by high humidity, then the likelihood of contracting a dangerous infection is reduced.
How to fight
The main means of reducing the likelihood of infection with such an unpleasant ailment is a competent crop rotation - corn is usually returned to the same areas no earlier than three or four years later. Post-harvest corn residues must also be promptly removed from the fields. It is equally important to sow corn at the optimal time, as well as use the most tolerant hybrids when sowing.
Seed dressing will also help partially free the cultivated crops from dust smut. A fungicide called "Lanta" copes with this task especially well.
A fairly effective chemical remedy for protecting corn from head smut is Maxim XL, which is a combined fungicide designed to protect corn plantings from fungal diseases spreading with soil and seeds. It perfectly stimulates seed germination and is the key to excellent germination. In addition, this drug has a beneficial effect on the assimilation of plants, significantly improving the process of photosynthesis. And "Maxim XL" protects against dust smut throughout the growing season.
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