Loose smut of barley and wheat: biology and approaches for non-chemical control

Abstract: Hyphae of Ustilago nuda and U. tritici were observed to invade the shoot apicalmeristem and leaf primordia of barley and wheat respectively, already during the first days afterthe onset of germination. In a screening performed in vitro, a number of microorganisms andplant extracts inhibited the germination of teliospores of U. nuda. However, in field experimentswith barley and wheat sufficient and reliable control of loose smut by seed treatment withselected agents was not obtained. On oat, seed treatment with ethanol (70%) provided a level of75-80% control.