First report of loose kernel smut of sorghum caused by Sporisorium cruentum in Egypt

摘要

In 2017, sorghum plants (Sorghum bicolor cv. Dorado) cultivated in several areas in Upper Egypt (Qena governorate), exhibited symptoms of loose kernel smut disease (Fig. 1). In the field, plants affected by loose kernel smut were initially mostly stunted, had thin stems, and panicles which emerged earlier than those of healthy plants. Later, all kernels of infected panicles were replaced by smut sori (approx. 1.0-1.5 cm × 0.4-0.5 cm). The sori were surrounded by a thin grey membrane that often ruptured soon after the panicle emerged from the stem. Following rupture of the membrane, a powdery and black smut mass (teliospores) was dispersed leaving a clearly visible central and curved columella inside the sorus.