Wheat dwarf bunt (Tilletia controversa) – identify and control

Wheat-dwarf-bunt-treatments

Wheat dwarf bunt (Tilletia controversa) is a less common disease compared to common bunt, but the damage is greater.

Symptoms. The attacked plants have a blue-green color and a much lower height (by 60-80%) compared to healthy plants. The attack is noted in circular or elliptical forms, in which dwarf plants have very small spikes, whose seeds are almost spherical. Although the contents of the seed are transformed into spores, their mass is dense.

The pathogen. Wheat dwarf bunt fungus resists in the soil in the form of spores. Plants attacked by it are not harvestable. They do not have the necessary height to be cut and brought into the combine harvester. The attacked plants remain on the ground. Through the agricultural works performed, the seeds are crushed and the spores are spread over a small area (a few square meters). In the case of monoculture, this area will be the surface of the new infections. In moist soils the spores last 1-2 years, but in drier soils, they can last even for 3-8 years. Soil spores will germinate and infect only wheat from late-sown monocultures in acidic soils fertilized with nitrogen-based fertilizers and only if the seeds are closer to the soil surface.

Prevention and control. It is recommended to cultivate resistant hybrids, crop rotation at 4-5 years. The safest and most effective control is to treat wheat before sowing with specific fungicides.

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