Hill bunt of wheat
Causal Organism: Tilletia caries and Tilleria foetida
Description It is also called European bunt or common bunt. It is systematic disease in India, its incidence is ristricted to the northern hills. The disease is capable of causing heavy losses in grain yield, which range from negligible to complete loss of the produce. Besides yield losses, it causes a serious deteriration in wheat flour. It imparts a fishy odour and black colour to the wheat meal resulting in the unpalatable chapatis.
Symptoms The disease is not usually visible until heading stage. The pistils in infected heads are longer with ovary almost double the normal and green in colour instead of being white. Both species produce different symptoms T.caries(low bunt) affected culms are shorter than the normal and the plants affected by T.foetida(high bunt) are more often higher than the normal ones. The disease produces slightly discoloured grains which are full of black powder and gives foul smell. The occurrence of bunt in the field can be felt by the foul smell resembling rotten fish.
Control Measure Sowing of disease resistant varieties Treating the seed with carboxin (Vitavax 75 WP) or Carbendazim (bavistin) @2.5 g/kg of seed