422 Journal op thb Department op Agriculture. 



POISONING OF CATTLE BY FEEDING ON 

 ERGOTIZED PASPALUM. 



By D. T. Mitchell, M.R.C.V.S., Yeterinaiy Eesearch 

 Laboratory, Onderstepoort. 



The cultivation of paspalum on au extensive scale as cattle feed in 

 the Province of Xatal is of comparatively recent date, and althougli 

 during che first few years the results justified the labour involved, in 

 recent years it has been noted that in cattle which were allowed 

 access to the paspaluni lands at a certain season, symptoms of 

 inco-ordination of movement appeared in a large percentage of them, 

 which disappeared slowly on changing the grazing ground to natural 

 veld. Serious outbreaks were reported from various parts of the 

 Province, and, of these, four were investigated. 



Two occurred in TJmvoti County, one involving a large dairy 

 herd and the other a number of young stock, heifers and oxen. A 

 third outbreak was reported from the Town Hill, near Maritzburg, 

 where clinical symptoms were found to be present in about 50 per 

 cent, of the cows of a dairy herd. A number of young oxen and 

 heifers at the Government Experimental Farm, Cedara, were 

 inspected at an inquiry held there, and were found to be affected 

 with characteristic symptoms identical with those noted in previous 

 outbreaks. 



In all these cases symptoms had appeared in the cattle grazing 

 on paspaluni pastures which were in the seeding stage, and in each 

 case it was noted that a very large percentage of the heads of the 

 grasses were infected with a fungus of the Ergot type.- Specimens 

 were collected and submitted to Dr. Pole Evans, Plant Pathologist, 

 who reported that the fungus present was Claviceps paspali, which 

 had been noted in other parts of the world to produce a similar tr^in 

 of symptoms to those shown by the cattle in the affected herds under 

 observation. Of the species of ergot possessing definite poisonous 

 principles producing pathological or functional alterations in man 

 and animals, the best known is Claviceps purpurea, the ergot which 

 infects grain and rye grasses. The distribution of this fungus is 

 very widespread, and its toxic properties have been recognized since 

 the earliest times. 



Dissemination of the spores of the fungus Claviceps paspali has 

 been noted to have been brought about by a species of beetle of the 

 family Carahidae, which collects the spores from the germinating 

 Sclerotia on the ground, and on climbing up the tall stems of the 

 grass in order to get a high point to fly from, transmits the spores 

 to the flowering heads of the grasses. Here a further development 

 occurs. The pistil of the flower is attacked and a mycelium is produced, 

 growing as a mass of thread between the glumes of the grass. Conidia 

 result from this mass, and a sticky substance, popularly known as 

 "honey dew," is found which materially a.ssists in spore dissemina- 

 tion. These spores are transmitted from plant to plant in various 



