Question

Ergot of rye is caused by a species of
a. Claviceps
b. Phytophthora
c. Uncinula
d. Ustilago

Answer 1

Hint: Ergot is the fungal disease mainly caused in the cereal crops which is caused by the species of ascomycetes fungi, ergot is commonly associated with rye which is caused by Claviceps purpurea

Complete answer:
- Ergot is the fungal disease which is caused by the fungi of the genus Claviceps
- Species in this Claviceps genus are very unique, which means they mostly infect the ovaries of the plants, other than other parts of the plants
- Claviceps has so many hosts, mainly it causes disease on 400 types of grasses
- Among all types of grasses, rye is the most economical host
- This Claviceps mainly leads to the reduction of crops, where it causes yellowish fluid substance on plants where if it is consumed by humans and animals, it causes so many health problems.
- The outbreak of ergot fungi is said to be ergotism
- When it comes to the symptoms, it causes honeydew, a sugary solution, which is mainly secreted by the ovaries of the plants.
- This yellowish sugary solution is normally replaced by the purplish sclerotium
- The size of sclerotium is dependent on different plants, it is usually in the size of the host seed, it contains mainly mycelial tissue which is pigmented, and some cortex which protects the mycelial tissue from the UV light.
- Sclerotium always presents in a dormant stage until unless it has a favorable environment.
- It’s always better to prevent the disease because once there are symptoms of ergot, it is impossible for the farmers to control the ergot.

When come to other options,
> phytophthora is a fungus-like organism, spread by air-born spores and affects the stems and roots of plants, it commonly affects the soil and container-grown plants.
> Unique is a pathogen belongs to the genus fungi, which cause a powdery type of disease and mostly affects the grape plants which reduce the yield of the European grape crops
> Ustilago is the yeast, which mainly involves the plants and effects the seeds and grains of cereals, grasses, etc
From the above explanation ergot of rye is caused by Claviceps.

Hence, The correct answer is option (A).

Note: One should know that ergot has so many hosts, that too mainly different types of grasses, among all rye is important and more common and economical grass, and it’s important to know about the symptoms and cultural practice and chemical control of the particular disease.