Purple Awns And Head On Wheat
The ergots have a white interior which distinguishes them from other types of.
Purple awns and head on wheat. During wet or humid conditions pink to salmon spore masses may appear on bleached heads figure 3. These fungal structures or ergots may be 5 to 10 times larger than normal wheat kernels and are often first detected in harvested grain. Hail or wind damage can rip the plant s boot or flag leaf and the awns catch as the wheat head is emerging which causes the head to look deformed or curled. De rocquigny 2016 purpling of leaves or melanism may be more prevalent in certain varieties as anthocyanin production can be a genetic.
Purple stems in spring wheat at mcvet portage site photo by p. Grain often has a white chalky appearance and some kernels may have a pink or reddish discoloration. Bleached spikelets are sterile. The most effective management strategy for black chaff is the use of certified pathogen free seed.
However the damage to john s crop earlier in the season didn t appear to affect yield at harvest. The central stem of the head is often brown at the base of spikelet and florets may have an orange mass of fungal spores. Infection of the stem peduncle immediately below the head may occur resulting in a brown to purple discol oration figure 4. Partial bleaching of the wheat head is diagnostic of fusarium head blight.
Unfortunately there s nothing a producer can do to prevent hail damage. Fusarium head blight large tan or brown lesions affect the entire spikelet or a large section of the wheat head. A dark brown to purple discoloration may appear on the stem below the head and above the flag leaf.