Diagnosing barley loose smut
A fungal disease affecting seed heads, which can cause yield losses and delivery penalties.
What to look for
- Scattered plants with black heads or bare flower stalks.
Paddock
- Infected plants may be slightly taller and earlier maturing than surrounding healthy plants.
- At heading florets are replaced with a compact mass of dark brown-black powdery spores.
- Bare stalks remain once fungal spores have blown away.
Plant
Where did it come from?
Contaminated seed
Wet or humid conditions
- The disease is carried as a small colony of fungus in the seed. This infects the growing point of the barley seedling following germination.
- Loose smut is not carried in soil or contaminated machinery.
- Infection is favoured by rainfall and high humidity during flowering.
Management strategies
Seed dressing fungicide
- Do not sow seed with high levels of loose smut.
- Fungicidal seed dressing controls loose smut.
- Use clean seed if contamination is found.
See also
Where to go for expert help
Page last updated: Thursday, 16 April 2015 - 10:13am