Rust and Smut Diseases of Sorghum
Rust - Puccinia purpurea Symptoms
The fungus affects the crop at all stages of growth. The first symptoms are small flecks on the
lower leaves (purple, tan or red depending upon the cultivar). Pustules (uredosori) appear on both
surfaces of leaf as purplish spots which rupture to release reddish powdery masses of uredospores.
Teliopores develop later sometimes in the old uredosori or in telisori, which are darker and longer
than the uredosori. The pustules may also occur on the leaf sheaths and on the stalks of
inflorescence.
Symptoms on leaves and stalk
Pathogen
The uredospores are pedicellate, elliptical or oval, thin walled, echinulated and darkbrown in
colour. The teliospores are reddish or brown in colour and two celled, rounded at the apex with
one germ pore in each cell. The teliospores germinate and produce promycelium and
basidiospores. Basidiospores infect Oxalis corniculata (alternate host) where pycnial and aecial
stages arise.
Favourable Conditions
□ Low temperature of 10 to 12°C favours teliospore germination.
□ A spell of rainy weather favours the onset of the disease.
Disease cycle
The uredospores survive for a short time in soil and infected debris. Presence of alternate
host helps in perpetuation of the fungus.
Management
□ Remove the alternate host Oxalis comiculata.
□ Spray the crop with Mancozeb at 2 kg/ha.
Grain smut/Kernel smut / Covered smut / Short smut - Sphacelotheca sorghi Symptoms
The individual grains are replaced by smut sori. The sori are oval or cyclindrical and are covered
with a tough creamy skin (peridium) which often persists unbroken up to thrashing. Ratoon crops
exhibit higher incidence of disease.
Loose smut/ kernel smut - Sphacelotheca cruenta Symptoms
The affected plants can be detected before the ears come out. They are shorter than the healthy
plants with thinner stalks and marked tillering. The ears come out much earlier than the healthy.
The glumes are hypertrophied and the earhead gives a loose appearance than healthy.
The sorus is covered by a thin membrane which ruptures very early, exposing the spores even as
the head emerges from the sheath.
Long smut - Tolyposporium ehrenbersii Symptoms
This disease is normally restricted to a relatively a small proportion of the florets which are
scattered on a head. The sori are long, more or less cylindrical, elongated, slightly curved with a
relatively thick creamy-brown covering membrane (peridium). The peridium splits at the apex to
release black mass of spores (spore in groups of balls) among which are found several dark brown
filaments which represent the vascular bundles of the infected ovary.
Head smut - Sphacelotheca reiliana Symptoms
The entire head is replaced by large sori. The sorus is covered by a whitish grey membrane of
fungal tissue, which ruptures, before the head emerges from the boot leaf to expose a mass of
brown smut spores. Spores are embedded in long, thin, dark colored filaments which are the
vascular bundles of the infected head.
Management for all smuts
□ Treat the seed with Captan or Thiram at 4 g/kg.
□ Use disease free seeds.
□ Follow crop rotation.
□ Collect the smutted ear heads in cloth bags and bury in soil.
Ergot or Sugary disease - Sphacelia
sorghi Symptoms
The disease is confined to individual spikelets. The first symptom is the secretion of honey dew
from infected florets. Under favourable conditions, long, straight or curved, cream to light brown,
hard sclerotia develop. Often the honey dew is colonised by Crerebella sorghivulgaris which
gives the head a blackened appearance.
Pathogen
The fungus produces septate mycelium. The honey dew is a concentrated suspension of conidia,
which are single celled, hyaline, elliptic or oblong.
Favourable Conditions
□ A period of high rainfall and high humidity during flowering season.
□ Cool night temperature and cloudy weather aggravate the disease.
Disease Cycle
The primary source of infection is through the germination of sclerotia which release ascospores
that infect the ovary. The secondary spread takes place through air and insect-borne conidia. Rain
splashes also help in spreading the disease.
Management
□ Adjust the date of sowing so that the crop does not flower during September- October when
high rainfall and high humidity favor the disease.
□ Spray any one of the following fungicides viz., Mancozeb 2 kg/ha (or) Carbendazim at 500
g/ha at emergence of ear head (5-10 per cent flowering stage) followed by a spray at 50 per cent
flowering and repeat the spray after a week, if necessary.
Head mould/Grain mould/Head blight
More than thirty two genera of fungi were found to occur on the grains of sorghum.
Symptoms
If rains occur during the flowering and grain filling stages, severe grain moulding occusr.
The most frequently occurring genera are Fusarium, Curvularia, Alternaria, Aspergillus and
Phoma. Fusarium semitectum and F.moniliforme develop a fluffy white or pinkish coloration. C.
lunata colours the grain black. Symptom varies depending upon the organism involved and the
degree of infection.
Favourable Conditions
□ Wet weather following the flowering favors grain mould development.
□ The longer the wet period the greater the mould development.
□ Compact ear heads are highly susceptible.
Disease cycle
The fungi mainly spread through air-borne conidia. The fungi survive as parasites as well as
saprophytes in the infected plant debris.
Management
□ Adjust the sowing time.
□ Spray any one of the following fungicides in case of intermittent rainfall during earhead
emergence, a week later and during milky stage.
□ Mancozeb 1 kg/ha or Captan 1 kg + Aureofungin-sol 100 g/ha.
Phanerogamic parasite - Striga asiatica and Striga densiflora
It is a partial root parasite and occurs mainly in the rainfed sorghum. It is a small plant
with bright green leaves, grows up to a height of 15-30 cm. The plants occur in clusters of 10-
20/host plant. S. asiatica produces red to pink flowers while. S. densiflora produces white
flowers. Each fruit contains minute seeds in abundance which survives in the soil for several
years.
The root exudates of sorghum stimulate the seeds of the parasite to germinate. The
parasite then slowly attaches to the root of the host by haustoria and grows below the soil surface
producing underground stems and roots for about 1-2 months. The parasite grows faster and
appears at the base of the plant. Severe infestation causes yellowing and wilting of the host
leaves. The infected plants are stunted in growth and may die prior to seed setting.
Management
□ Regular weeding and intercultural operation during early stages of parasite growth.
□ Spray Fernoxone (sodium salt of 2, 4-D) at 450g /500 litre of water.
