FOOT-ROT DISEASES OF WHEAT IN AMERICA 3 
Accordingly the term “ foot-rot,” as used in this bulletin, designates 
a rotting or serious infection of any part of or the entire basal por- 
tion of wheat plants which have advanced beyond the seedling * 
stage. The term thus includes a basal culm or stalk rot, crown-rot, 
and root-rot, occurring separately or together, which may be caused 
by any parasite. 
The term “seedling blight” is used, as it has been by the workers 
previously mentioned, to designate a severe injury or killing of the 
seedling and includes the complete blighting or partial discoloration 
of the leaves as well as stem-rot and root-rot caused by any parasite. 
While this bulletin deals primarily with the foot-rot diseases, other 
manifestations than foot-rot are considered incidentally in the sec- 
tions dealing with parasites which attack all parts of the plant. 
TAKE-ALL, THE FOOT-ROT CAUSED BY OPHIOBOLUS GRAMINIS 
COMMON NAMES 
Straw blight, England. Smith (64), 1884. 
Foot disease (maladie du pied), France. Prillieux and Delacroix (57), 
1890. 
Foot-rot (piétin), France. Schribaux (63), 1892. 
Black-foct (pied noir), France. Gaillot (25), 1897. 
Die-back disease (tachigare-byo) and white wilt, Japan. Hori (31), 
1901. 
Take-all and white-heads, Australia. McAlpine (41), 1904. 
Several other names have been associated with this type of disease, 
but in these cases it is not clear that Ophiobolus graminis Sacc. was 
the cause. Also, some of the names mentioned evidently were applied 
to the disease before O. graminis was found associated with it, as is 
undoubtedly the case with the names straw blight, take-all, and white- 
heads. It seems evident that the name “take-all” was not the first 
one applied to the disease caused by O. graminis, but, as priority is 
not. always adhered to in deciding the usage of common names of 
diseases, this name is used because it is the most common among 
English-speaking people and is the one now accepted in this country. 
_ GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION 
Take-all was first found in the United States (62) in 1919 near 
Roanoke, Va. These diseased wheat plants were sent to the Office of 
Cereal Investigations of the United States Department of Agricul- 
ture on June 16 by Dr. F. D. Fromme. Later the plants were exam- 
ined and mature perithecia of Ophiobolus graminis were found on 
them.’ Since 1919 this disease has been found in several new loca- 
tions, until now it is known to occur in most of the winter-wheat 
areas in this country. Locations where the disease has been found 
and relevant information are given in Table 1, and the locations are 
shown in Figure 1. These show that the disease is well distributed 
throughout the United States, thus making it practically impossible 
to get accurate information concerning its origin. Indications are 
that the disease has not been introduced recently, but rather that it 
existed here for many years before being observed. The more exten- 
sive distribution of the disease in western New York might be taken 
*The term “seedling ’”’ as here used applies to the young plant before it has developed 
its permanent root system. 
5 This fungus was identified by R. W. Goss, A. G, Johnson, and the writer. 
