208 SUCCESSFUL FARMING 



head while in the field, but develops within the kernel as the wheat ripens. 

 At threshing time the infected kernels may be broken, exposing a 

 black, stinking, greasy mass of smut spores. The handling of smutty 

 wheat aids in the infecting of all sound wheat that comes in contact with 

 it. The smut spores adhere to the outside of the kernel until it is planted. 

 The fungus grows within the wheat plant and finally takes possession of 

 the newly formed berry. Stinking smut can be controlled by the formalde- 

 hyde treatment. 



Treatment.— One pint of 40 per cent formaldehyde is added to 40 

 gallons of water. This is sufficient to treat 40 bushels of wheat. The 

 wheat should be spread on a good tight floor and sprinkled with the 

 solution. The wheat should then be shoveled over until the grain is well 

 moistened, after which it should be shoveled into a pile or ridge and covered 

 with canvas for several hours. The wheat should then be spread out on 

 the floor to dry. The kernels will absorb water and become larger. If 

 seeding takes place before the wheat is thoroughly dry, one-fifth to one- 

 fourth more seed to the acre is sown than when untreated seed is used. 



Loose smut is less injurious to wheat then the hidden or stinking 

 smut, but is more difficult to treat and control. It destroys the head in 

 the field, leaving the bare rachis as evidence of its presence. The mature 

 spores are scattered by the wind. If they gain entrance to the growing 

 berry in the head, they germinate and send mycelium into its tissues to 

 await the time when the wheat is sown in the ground. The formalin 

 treatment, which simply acts on the outside of the berry, is ineffective. 



The hot-water treatment is recommended for the loose smut of wheat. 

 This treatment requires careful and painstaking work, and is not practical 

 for large quantities of seed. A small quantity of seed should be treated 

 and sown in a separate plot to be used for seed purposes the following 

 year, thus eliminating the smut. 



Treatment. — The equipment required for the hot-water treatment is 

 as follows: 3 large kettles, 1 tub, several wire baskets holding about 1 

 peck of grain, and 1 good thermometer. The seed wheat should be soaked 

 several hours in cold water placed in tub. The water in kettle No. 1 is 

 heated to 127° F., and in kettle No. 2 to 130° F. This can be done by 

 heating water in the extra kettle and regulating to the required tempera- 

 ture the water in kettles No. 1 and 2. A wire basket should be filled 

 with wheat from the tub of cold water, allowed to drain, and immersed 

 in kettle No. 1 for two minutes. It should then be taken out and 

 immersed in kettle No. 2 for ten minutes, after which the wheat should be 

 spread out to dry. This treatment frequently kills a small percentage 

 of the kernels, the amount of which should be determined so as to regulate 

 the proper rate of seeding. A germination test is therefore advised before 

 seeding. 



