A RARE SEED-BORNE DISEASE OF WHEAT CAUSED BY PODOSPORIELLA VERTICILLATA

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Abstract
A rare fungus, Podosporiella verticillata O'Gara, was isolated from a single seed in each of 13 samples of common and durum wheat grown during the period 1946–1949 in western Saskatchewan and Alberta. The fungus had not been reported previously in Canada. Helminthosporium cyclops Drechsler is a synonym of P. verticillata. Naturally infected seed did not germinate. When mature seeds of cereals were artificially inoculated, germination was unimpaired and healthy plants were produced. Inoculation of developing kernels in heads of wheat and panicles of oats resulted in apparently healthy seeds, but when these were placed on moist filter paper they either failed to germinate or produced stunted seedlings. This injury is apparently caused by a toxin produced by the fungus. The fungus is not likely to be of economic importance under western Canadian conditions.

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