1900] 
Kellerman — Sorghum Smut 
9 
A FOLIICOLOUS FORM OF SORGHUM SMUT AND NOTES 
ON INFECTION EXPERIMENTS. 
W. A. Kellerman. 
(Plate 2.) 
On January 1st, 1900, several pots in the Botanical greenhouse 
of the Ohio State University were planted to sorghum, Kaffir corn, 
maize, sweet-corn and pop-corn. The seeds were previously 
moistened and mixed with a large quantity of head-smut of sorghum 
taken from smutted sorghum plants also from maize infected with 
the same fungus. This species was named Ustilcigo reiliana by 
Kuhn in 1808 from specimens collected in Egypt. 
The plants developed rapidly and normally, though the stems 
were slender and did not reach the normal height. The panicles 
appeared early and only in a comparatively few cases showed in- 
fection. 
In one case an anomalous specimen appeared, namely, a sweet 
corn plant with the upper leaves as well as the panicle infected. 
This form therefore differs from the type in being in part foliicolous 
and may be designated as Ustilcigo ( Cintractia *) reiliana forma 
foliicola nov. for. Figures 1 and 2, Plate 2, show the appearance of 
the infected plant, the one representing an earlier and the other a 
later stage of the emergence of the smut mass. 
It may be remarked further that I have repeatedly tried seed 
inoculation experiments, mostly in the greenhouse but also 
occasionally in the field. 
In the latter case in the summer of 1900, 1 obtained from a plot of 
many hundred stalks including field-corn, sweet-corn, pop-corn, 
sorghum, Kaffir corn and broom corn only three cases of smutted 
plants. These were of sweet corn, both the tassel and ear being 
affected. The previous year about the same per cent of successful 
inoculations were obtained. But in the greenhouse the experiments 
have uniformally resulted in the production of a considerable 
number of smutted stalks of sorghum and occasionally an infected 
plant of maize. These have for the most part been reported in print, 
the first account appearingin Bulletin No. 23, Kansas Experiment 
Station, in the year 1891. 
I have now growing in the botanical greenhouse three sets of 
sorghum plants raised from seeds planted January 1, 1898, Janu- 
ary 1, 1899, and January 1, 1900. Only the plants have been retained 
which showed successful inoculation experiments. They have been 
shifted to larger pots from time to time, but the plants make only a 
*Mr. G. P. Clinton regards this fungus as a Cintractia rather than an Ustilago. 
