Managing common bunt in wheat seed lots (Liveseed Practice Abstract)

Summary

Seed analyses: A seed analysis, as performed by state-accredited labs for example, will confirm and quantify the infection of a seed lot with common bunt. Thorough seed cleaning: Thoroughly cleaning an infected seed lot with an air stream or similar gravity cleaning equipment can remove most of the intact bunt balls and some of the free spores. As a second step, brush-cleaning is very efficient to reduce the number of free spores in the seed lot.
Seed treatments: Seed treatments are essential to prevent and control common bunt. Several seed treatments are authorized for organic farming, namely white vinegar, mustard powder, products based on antagonist microorganisms (e.g. Cerall (R)) and products based on copper (e.g. Copseed), depending on the country.
When harvesting...
If an infection with common bunt is suspected, harvest healthy wheat fields first and infected fields last. Then clean the harvester by harvesting crops which are not susceptible to common bunt, e.g. oats or any non-cereal crop (e.g. pea, soybean).