COLOHAIK) PlAN'P DiSKASKS 
WHEAT 
51 
Covered Smut or Bunt (Til- 
letia laevis and tritici) — 
Covered smut is the most de- 
structive of the smuts affecting- 
wheat. It is estimated that this 
smut was responsible for a loss 
of 21,971,000 bushels of wheat 
in the United States in 1917. 
The kernels alone are af- 
fected, each kernel being trans- 
formed into hard smut balls re- 
taining somewhat the shape of 
the normal grain. Smutted 
grains, however, are usually 
darker in color, lighter in 
weight and more round in 
shape. A smutted kernel when 
crushed breaks up into a mass 
of black spores and gives off a 
characteristic foul odor resem- 
bling the smell of decayed fish. 
The spores are carried over 
Bunt or covered smut of wheat. SUrfaCe of the kemels 
and infect the germinating seedling. The formaldehyde seed treat- 
ment is therefore effective. 
A — Healthy wheat kernels. B — Bunted wheat kernels. 
