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Bunt, or stinking
smut |
Causal organism - Claviceps purpurea
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Ergot is a very common disease of grasses and cereal crops. It is not truly a seed-borne disease as it is not carried on or in seed. It is however, spread by ergots as seed contaminants and is therefore included here. It is also one of only two diseases which are included in the UK Seed Certification Scheme for Cereals (the other being loose smut).
The causal fungus only attacks the ear, replacing the grain in a few spikelets by a hard, purple-black sclerotium , known as an ergot. Such ergots can be very large, up to 2 cm in length, and are very obvious in the standing crop and in contaminated grain samples.
