Flag Smut of Wheat (ਕਣਕ ਦਾ ਫਲੈਗ ਸਮੱਟ ਹੁਣ ਹੀ ਕੰਟਰੋਲ ਕਰੋ, ਨਹੀ ਤਾ ਨੁਕਸਾਨ ਹੋ ਸਕਦਾ) Shergill Markhai

Symptoms Flag smut symptoms become apparent during the stem elongation and heading stages of growth. Infected plants become increasing obvious during the early stages of grain development. Infected plants are deformed and often noticeably shorter than healthy plants. The stunted plants are often restricted to the lower third of the crop canopy. The leaves of diseased plants are often twisted and have long gray or black lesions that run parallel to the leaf veins. As the plants mature, the lesions rupture and release large numbers of black, powdery spores of the fungus. Flag smut may infect all the tillers of a plant, but in some cases, only a few tillers become diseased. The heads of diseased tillers are poorly developed and often will not emerge from the twisted flag leaves. Heads that do emerge may have black-striped stems and glumes. The infected tillers often produce no grain Management Fungicide seed treatments are the most effective way to manage flag smut. There are many seed treatment fungicides labeled for control of flag smut and many of the widely marketed fungicides should provide excellent control of the disease. The genetic resistance of wheat varieties grown in Kansas is unknown. Crop rotations with nonhost crops such as soybeans, sorghum, or corn provide time for the fungal population to decline between wheat crops and lower the risk of infection in subsequent years. It also may be possible to reduce the risk of severe disease by avoiding early planting conditions that place seed into warm moist soils, which are known to favor infection by the flag smut fungus.

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