This disease has been an occasional problem on barley. The first sign of infection is a small, water-soaked spot on the seed head at the base of the glumes. Within a short period of time, the entire glume will become water soaked. Salmon-pink mycelia of the fungus can often be found along the margin of the glume. Developing kernels on infected spikelets are usually sunken and sometimes covered with the pink mycelia.
Infected spikelets are usually a bleached straw color.
By harvest, infected seed heads are often covered with small black fruiting bodies or perithecia. Outbreaks of scab are usually associated with warm, wet weather. The fungus that causes scab commonly survives on crop residues of nearly all grain crops including corn and sorghum. Treating seed with fungicides will protect seedlings from seed-borne inoculum. Weed Control Weed competition and damage can be minimized by the use of weed-free seed and by good seedbed preparation.