The Aberdeen weekly. [volume] (Aberdeen, Miss.) 1878-1933, 1921-12-09

Ergot Has Become Very Destructive
in Rye and Particularly Durum
Wheats, Even Occurring to Marked
Degree in Barley.
age of the sclerotia, or ergot bodies,
would, of course, be blown out with
foreign material either as a part of
the screenings or with the straw
through the blow stacker.
Ergot can be distinguished in ripen-
ing wheat as large blush black bodies,
which in many instances are from
three to eight times as large as the
grain of wheat or rye which they dis
place in the head. Many of these bod
les fall from the ripe wheat or rye
head during the process of harvesting
and lie on the ground all winter. They
terminate in the spring and produce
spores which infect the wheat or rye
head when it is I'm bloom.
AS a disease of wheat, ergot has be
come widely distributed across the
country from New York to Oregon and
from the Canadian border TO the south
ern limits of wheat production, but not
until within tire past three years has it
attracted more than passing attention.
From such observations as have been
recorded there is some reason to be-
lieve that the disease is becoming not
only more prevalent but is also more
widely distributed. The durum wheats
seem to be more subject to attack than
do the common wheats at any rate,
reports based on field observations, and
on samples of thrashed grain show
higher percentage of ergot in the du
rum varieties.
Erqot Is Poisonous to Live Stock.
The importance of ergot as a cereal
disease lies not so much in its relation
to crop yield as it does in its poison
Gus effect upon animals that unwilling
ly have been given a ration of screen
ings or other feed containing the ergot
bodies. It is no@ generally accepted
that flour made from wheat or rye is
unfit for food if it contains more than
one-tenth of ] per cent by weight of
ergot. Screenings obtained from wheat
or rye affected with ergot would nat
uralIv include ergot bodies. and these
when ground at the feed mill are
scarcely recognizable as part of the
grist. Such feed. when fed to poul-
try or other live stock, may result in
fatal poisoning.
AS a cereal disease, ergot may be
controlled by planting clean seed i'm
mediately after any other crop than
wheat or rye in which there was an
outbreak of ergot
Winter rye volunteers readily, and
these volunteer plants are almost al
ways badly infected with ergot. Sow
ing wheat after rye, therefore. is bad
practice, for, regardless of whether the
ergot attacks the wheat, its presence
in volunteer rye is sure TO leave a con-
siderable quantity of both rye and err
got in the wheat as 1t comes from the
thrashfng machine. This foreign mat
ter Is likely to lower the grade of the
wheat as well as affect its value for
bread-making purposes.
Freeing Seed Grain of Ergot.
Rye or wheat containing ergot bod
les can be perfectly cleaned by pouring
the grain into a vat or barrel contain
ing a 20 per cent solution of common
salt and stirring thoroughly to bring
the ergot bodies to the surface. The
difference In specific gravity between
this solution and fresh water viii bring
all ergot bodies, or pieces of such ma
terfal, to the surface where they can
be skinned off, The brine should
then be drawn off and the grain then
washed in fresh water TO remove any
salt remaining on the seed