Basal glume rot

Casual Organism: Pseudomonas syringae pv. atrofaciens

Description: The leaves, culms, and spikes of wheat can be infected.

Symptoms: Infections begin as small, dark green, water-soaked lesions that turn dark brown to blackish in color. On the spikelets, lesions generally start at the base of the glume and may eventually extend over the entire glume. Diseased glumes have a translucent appearance when held toward the light. Dark brown to black discoloration occurs with age. The disease may spread to the rachis, and lesions may also develop on the kernels.Under wet or humid conditions, whitish gray bacterial ooze may be present. Stem infections result in dark discoloration of the stem; leaf infections result in small, irregular, water-soaked lesions. Symptoms can be confused with those of other bacterial diseases, genetic melanism (false black chaff), septoria blotch, and frost damage.

Control measures

• Grow resistant varieties.
• Follow field sanitation.
• Use certified seeds.
• Avoid late sowing.
• Use solarization technique for seed
•  Treatment that is during hot summer months in morning hours the seed is soaked in cold water and kept in hot sun from 8.00 AM to 12.00 noon and then dried in the after noon, precautions should be taken so that their is no damage to the viability of
  the seed.
• Up-root the affected plants before ear emergence if they are affected with disease.