Diseases

Ergot of common wheat

Triticum aestivum L.

A disease of common wheat caused by the fungus Claviceps purpurea, characterized by the formation of sclerotia instead of grains. The pathogen's development includes stages of 'honeydew' secretion and the formation of sclerotia protruding from the glumes.

In the reference 4 varieties crop Bread wheat, where this is mentioned in the description.

The causative agent of the disease is the ascomycete Claviceps purpurea, whose asexual stage is known as Sphacelia segetum. During the wheat flowering period, droplets of sticky exudate with the odor of rotting meat form on the spike, attracting insect vectors of the spores. In the later stages of development, dense sclerotia form in place of the caryopses, which in common wheat are usually shorter and thicker than those in rye and are clearly visible as they are not covered by the glumes.

Specific resistance genes to this pathogen have not been described in common wheat. Breeding for resistance is based on the selection of morphophysiological traits that allow the plant to avoid infection, such as cleistogamy (closed flowering) and a shortened flowering period, which minimizes the time of ovary vulnerability to spores.

General information about the subject — on the page Ergot.

Sources8

Varieties of Bread wheat mentioned in the description

Selection based on the description text, not on official evaluation: these data are absent from registers. For specific variety details, please refer to its profile.