The Effects of Stinking Smut (Bunt) and Seed Treatment upon the Yield of Winter Wheat

The depreciating effects of bunt or stinking smut (Tilletia levis Kuhn and tritici [Bjerk.] Wint.) upon the yield and quality of winter wheat in Nebraska and many other states are well known. The practical control of this disease through seed treatment has also been established and is being extensively practiced by growers. At the time these experiments were initiated in 1923, formaldehyde was the most commonly used disinfectant, while copper carbonate was just gaining recognition following its introduction by Darnell-Smith in 1915. It has been the chief purpose of the investigations herein reported to study the relative merits of various modified treatments with these two disinfectants, and to establish the relationship between the degree of infection and grain yield of a susceptible variety. The comparative effectiveness of several other fungicides and the longevity of spores, as well as the effect of variation in several cultural practices, have also been studied. The application of the results obtained concerning seed treatments should be restricted to regions where the wheat is not subject to infection from spores carried in the soil. So far as is known, this would exclude only the Pacific Northwest