The O. S. U. Naturalist, Vol. 1, No. 1, November, 1900Ohio State University. Biological Club
History
The O. S. U. Naturalist, Vol. 1, No. 1, November, 1900
Ohio State University. Biological Club
Natural history -- Ohio -- Periodicals; Natural history -- Periodicals; Science -- Periodicals
In one case an anomalous specimen appeared, namely, a sweet corn plant
with the upper leaves as well as the panicle infected. This form
therefore differs from the type in being in part foliicolous and may be
designated as _Ustilago_ (_Cintractia_[2]) _reiliana_ forma _foliicola_
nov. for. Figures 1 and 2, Plate 2, show the appearance of the infected
plant, the one representing an earlier and the other a later stage of
the emergence of the smut mass.
Footnote 2:
Mr. G. P. Clinton regards this fungus as a Cintractia rather than an
Ustilago.
It may be remarked further that I have repeatedly tried seed inoculation
experiments, mostly in the greenhouse but also occasionally in the
field.
In the latter case in the summer of 1900, I obtained from a plot of many
hundred stalks including field-corn, sweet-corn, pop-corn, sorghum,
Kaffir corn and broom corn only three cases of smutted plants. These
were of sweet-corn, both the tassel and ear being affected. The previous
year about the same per cent. of successful inoculations were obtained.
But in the greenhouse the experiments have uniformly resulted in the
production of a considerable number of smutted stalks of sorghum and
occasionally an infected plant of maize. These have for the most part
been reported in print, the first account appearing in Bulletin No. 23,
Kansas Experiment Station, in the year 1891.
I have now growing in the botanical greenhouse three sets of sorghum
plants raised from seeds planted January 1, 1898, January 1, 1899, and
January 1, 1900. Only the plants have been retained which showed
successful inoculation experiments. They have been shifted to larger
pots from time to time, but the plants make only a stunted growth. The
new stalks that appear now and then are invariably affected, though
sometimes one of the panicles, either the one terminating the main stem
or one of the side branches may be free from visible smut. It is thus
evident that this species of smut is perennial where its host lives from
year to year. Figure 3 shows a photograph of one of the plants started
in the greenhouse in 1899, its first stem producing an infected panicle.
Figure 4 shows a plant grown in 1900, the first or central panicle not
exhibiting the smut, but later when panicles from the side branches
appeared, they were seen to be smutted.
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