This document summarizes several plant diseases that affect sorghum: downy mildew, ergot, and grainmold. Downy mildew is caused by a fungus and symptoms include downy growth on leaves which then turn yellow and shred. Ergot is caused by a fungus and symptoms include honeydew droplets on spikelets which then transform into honey-colored structures. Grainmold is caused by several mold fungi and appears as molded earheads when grains set during high humidity. Control methods for these diseases include crop rotation, field sanitation, resistant varieties, fungicide application, and adjustment of sowing dates.

1. Downy mildew
• Caused by schelesrospara sorrghi
• Symptoms
Downy growth of the fungi consisting (
mycelium and sporongiophore. )
Infected part of the plant ( leaves)
Leaves become yellow.
Infected plant remain sterile particularly in
early infected plant. ( no ears produced )

2. Downy mildew cont….
White streaks appear in the leaf which then
return brown.
Shredding in the leaves in pronounced.
In case of late infection only older leaves
shred and plant produces healthy ears.

3. Management :
• The fungi survives in the form of (oospores
resting spore ,sexual spore produces
oomycytes) on crop debris and in soil.
• Secondary spread by wind borne sporangia)
• Field sanitation to reduce the inoculum on the
crop debris .
• Seed treatment to prevent the infection in
germinating seed of the seedling .

4. Management cont.…..
• Crop rotation
• Spray suitable fungicide to prevent or to kill
the wind borne sporangia 2/3kg of metalaxyl
,fosotyl 20grm -20 litter.
• Growing resistant variety if available
• Adjustment Sowing date in order to perevent
the coincidence of peak stage of disease of
susceptible of crop . ( previous in formation
and irrigation Application )

5. Ergot ( sugary disease )
• Caused by claviceps purpurea/Africana
Symptoms
Droplet of honeydew are seen in the infected
spikelet's .
There are honey clored dew like droplets ( ear
head panicle).
Mass of conidia appears in the droplets .
Infected spikelet's transform in to honey
structure .( scholorotia or ergot ).

6. Ergot cont…
• The fungi survives in the form of scholorotia
or scholorotium ( in the soil or crop debris).
• Secondary infection caused by conidia in the
honeydew for droplet , and also dispersed by
insect .
• Externally seed borne .

7. Control option
• Field sanitation.
• Crop rotation.
• Soil salinization and deep ploughing.
• Resistance variety if available
• Spray suitable fungicide like carbondazim
mancozeb copper coxy choloride.
• Use ergot free seed for sowing.
• Seed treatment with suitable fungicide like thrum
and capton .

8. Cont..
• Destruction for collateral hot particularly ergot
formation. Or destroy grass hosts before ergot
formation or weed host > N.B the consumption of ergot
infected grains leads like the disease known as
egotism.
• The shelorotia of fungi claviceps purpurea contain
number of alkaloids which are utilized in medicine for
the preparation of obortifacients and are also useful in
controlling haemorrhage during child birth .
• And also use apportion ) . Uterus contraction and
relaxation for higma rabaaniyah .

9. Grainmold
This caused by many mold fungi such as
Aspergillus spp.
Fosorium monoliforme.
Penecullium spp.

10. symptoms
• The disease appears when grains set of
susceptible sorghi varieties coincides with
high humidity and continuous rains.
• The most important symptom is molded ear
head of various colour , the colour depend on
prevailing fungi .
• The disease is Airborne.

11. Control option
• Resistant varieties if available .
• Adjustment of sowing date .
• Consider the duration of variety and the
duration of the rainy season.
• If rainy in the area is longer use long duration
variety of sorghum or delay sowing .
• If rainy season in the area is short use short
duration varieties of sorghum .

12. • Sorghum rust caused by paccenea purpurea
• Anthracnose in sorghum
• Leaf blight in sorghum
• Helmisporia blight
• Helmosporia blight
• Southern leaf blight
• Northern leaf blight

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