Ergot

Ergot refers to the Claviceps ascomycete fungus. Claviceps is parasitic on certain grains and grasses. The form the fungus takes to over-winter is called a sclerotium, and this small structure is what is usually referred to as 'ergot', although referring to the members of the Claviceps genus as 'ergot' is also correct. There is about 50 known species of Claviceps, most of them in the tropical regions. Economically important species are Claviceps purpurea (grasses and cereals), Claviceps fusiformis (pearl millet, buffel grass), Claviceps paspali (dallis grass), and Claviceps africanahttp://www.apsnet.org/online/feature/ergot/0218-01F.pdf(sorghum). C. purpurea can affect a number of cereals including rye (its most common host), triticale, wheat and barley. It affects oats only rarely.

Related Topics:
Claviceps - Fungus - Grass - Rye - Triticale - Wheat - Barley - Oat

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There are three races or varieties of C. purpurea, differing in their host specifity http://www2.biomed.cas.cz/~pazouto/purpurea.htm: G1 - land grasses of open meadows and fields; G2 - grasses from moist, forest and mountain habitats; G3 (C. purpurea var. spartinae) - salt marsh grasses (Spartina, Distichlis).

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