Head smut

(Sporisorium reilianum (Kühn) Clinton)

Symptoms

• Head smut typically affects the inflorescence and rarely the foliage.
• The whole head turns into smut sorus, a white peridium initially covers the sorus; large ruptured sori reveal distinct vascular strands. Parts of inflorescence that do not form gall usually show a blasting or proliferation of individual florets.
• Smut galls may also develop occasionally on the leaves and stems in some cultivars of sweet sorghum and Sudangrass.

  Fig. 1: Inflorescence turned into black fungal mass

Control measures

• Avoid seed from endemic fields for planting
• Grow resistant cultivars.