Common smut
1) Smuts:
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A) Common smut:
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c.o. Ustilago maydis (Dc)cda

Symptoms :

• Produces gall on the ears, axillary buds, tassels, stalks and rarely on the leaves
• The epidermal tissues of the gall are dell white or grey in colour
• On rupturing, the black powdery mass of spores expose


Head smut
B) Head smut :
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C.O. Sphacelotheca reiliana (Kuhn ) Clinton

Symptoms:

• Affects the pistillate and staminate inflorescences, forming tumeurs in the place of flowers
• The floral parts are covered by a black powdery mass of smut spores
• The sori vary in size; enclosing masses of spores mixed with a network of fibrons remnants of host tissue

Management:

• Use resistant variety
• Adopt various field sanitation measures
• Crop rotation to be folloved


Brown spot

(2) Brown spot :
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C.O. Physoderma zeae maydis shaw

Symptoms:

• Initially symptoms are water soaked lesions which are light green turn into reddish brown
• Oral shaped and coalesce to from brown blotches
• When stem as infected, it breaks at the infected point

Management:

• Adopt various field sanitation measures
• Treat the seeds with thirum or captan @ 3 gm/ kg seed


(3) Leaf spot :
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Symptoms :

• Phaeosphaeria maydis cases pale green or chlerotic , enlarge to form dry
oblong spots with brownish margins
• Didemella exitialis produces small elliptical spots, Elengate to form whitish or creanish streaks or patches
• Diplodia macrospore produces large greysh to tan sessions.

Management :

• Treat the seeds with thiram or captan @ 3 gm/kg seed