Ergot fungal infection issue to be resolved
27/05/05

One of the key measures that arable farmers are being encouraged to take to qualify for new environmental schemes could place their crops at risk from a fungal infection that can render them unsaleable and worthless.

Scientists at NIAB, Rothamsted Research, ADAS and Velcourt R & D have just started a major project to examine whether sowing grass headlands to arable fields will increase the likelihood of "ergot" infecting the arable crops growing in the same field.

The NIAB display at this year's Cereals event will cover this work, and it is also part of Rothamsted's exhibit, along with a range of other research projects in which it is involved. These look at the changing disease and pest threats that British farmers may face over the next few decades, including the arrival of new diseases, the evolution of existing ones and the effects of climate change.

Cereals 2005 is being held at Rectory Farm, Guilden Morden, Cambridgeshire on Wednesday 15th and Thursday 16th June 2005, and is organised by Haymarket Land Events for the RASE. Main sponsor is HSBC Bank.

The ergot issue is exciting considerable interest, says Professor John Lucas, Head of the Plant Pathogen Interactions Division at Rothamsted, will all parties being keen to discover the true nature of the danger it poses:

Ergot is caused by a fungus and leads to black fungal growths appearing in the ear instead of grains. These are highly poisonous to man and animals, with a minimal tolerance level being allowed in animal feed grains, but zero tolerance for many other markets.

The disease is relatively common in wild grasses throughout the UK and is spread by spores that can infect the ovaries of cereal plants. In Britain it often uses Black-grass - one of the most damaging grassweeds in its own right - as a host.

"We are currently investigating how the ergot spores might move from grass to cereal crops to help decide whether increasing the population of wild grasses around the crop could increase the risk of such transfer", says Professor Lucas.

Other aspects of the project will investigate whether species of grass can be grown that do not harbour strains of ergot that are not able to infect cereals and potential ways to enhance host resistance:

"Most existing evidence is anecdotal. People have noticed what they feel is an increase in some crops. It is a potential risk rather than a proven one. We expect this project to provide some firmer answers. It could be a real problem because tolerance levels for ergot are very small and effective treatment of the fungus is well nigh impossible to achieve".

* Cereals 2005, incorporating Sprays & Sprayers, is organised and presented by Haymarket Land Events on behalf of the Royal Agricultural Society of England. It is held in association with Farmers Weekly. Principal sponsor is HSBC.

For further information on the event please log onto www.cerealsevent.org.uk