MySheen

What is the cause of corn head smut? How to prevent and control maize smut

Published: 2024-12-18 Author: mysheen
Last Updated: 2024/12/18, Maize smut is a fungal disease of maize plants, which is caused by the pathogen Sphacelotheca reiliana. It is a systemic disease that can infect plants as seeds, but the symptoms do not appear until the plant is in the flowering and fruiting stage. Smut can easily be mistaken for

Maize smut is a fungal disease of maize plants, which is caused by the pathogen Sphacelotheca reiliana. It is a systemic disease that can infect plants as seeds, but the symptoms do not appear until the plant is in the flowering and fruiting stage.

Smut can easily be mistaken for another fungal corn disease, a common smut. However, corn head smut only shows its unique symptoms of tassel and corn ear, while the symptoms of common smut may occur in any part of the infected corn plant.

Corn with head smut may look completely normal and healthy until the infected plant produces flowers or fruit. The symptom is the growth of irregular black wrinkles on the corn ear. Infected corn can be stunted and grow in the shape of teardrops-they may also grow strange finger-like stretches from infected corncobs.

As mentioned above, this is a systemic disease. Infection may be present only on rachis and spike, but the disease exists throughout the plant.

How to stop corn smut? Filamentous smut on corn ears has led to a sharp drop in the yield of commercial corn crops in Nebraska. Although there is no effective control method for maize smut once symptoms appear, the use of fungicides on seeds before planting can help control the outbreak of the disease, especially in smaller home gardens.

Because corn head smut grows and spreads most actively during hot and humid periods, planting corn early in the season can help control the disease. Of course, the use of disease-resistant maize hybrids can also be an effective way to prevent maize smut.

 
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