What does ergot look like?
Ergot appears as a dark purple or more often a black fungal mass that replaces kernels in the small grain head. Generally only a few kernels in a head are affected, but as the fungal body is usually larger than normal kernels and extends beyond the tip of the glumes of the kernels they replace, one can spot ergot when walking through a ripening field. In harvested grain, ergot bodies appear as black chalky kernels (see attached photo). These ergot bodies, if returned to the soil will be the source of inoculum for future infestations. They germinate in the summer and produce spores that can be carried by the wind. Spores that are able to enter the floret during flowering can develop into ergot bodies. Cool wet weather during flowering favors the development of ergot is cereals. Perhaps the wet and cool weather that prevailed during flowering in many parts of the state predisposed this years crop to ergot. Is there varietal resistance to ergot? There has been no recent screening of HRSW
