Plant resistant varieties . Mild winters followed by very cool springs and abundant rainfall permit this disease to increase. It is rare in the Texas High Plains, preferring the higher elevations and cooler climate of the Rocky Mountains. Spores germinate and germ tubes penetrate the young wheat ovaries where the fungus remain dormant until those seed germinate. Use of seed treatment fungicides and disease-free seed will prevent this disease.
Heads affected by stinking smut fungus have a distinct blue cast.
At bloom time infected heads are more slender than healthy heads and do not put out pollen sacks. In the field, smutted heads usually stand more nearly erect than healthy heads because of their lighter weight. In some varieties, it is necessary to crush the kernels to determine if heads are diseased. The offensive odor indicates the presence of heavy infections either in fields or in shipped grain. Infested wheat is usually condemned before shipment.