Smut on my sweetcorn

[Rosyred]

Went to the allotment this evening to find that one stalk had this smut. Came home and read burn sweetcorn and do not grow for another 3 years on site. Well I really would like to grow sweetcorn again next year so was thinking i'll grow it right over the other side and burn the stalks on the soil where they had grown.

But my question is what is it? and what causes it? Has anyone else suffered from it?

[Rosyred]

[Kepouros]

It may not be quite as bad as you fear. Maize (or Sweetcorn) Smut - Ustilago maydis is a fungus disease which, in this country at least, mainly infects in hot dry weather.  Any plant that is infected forms galls and it is these galls that cause the danger when they ripen and burst, scattering spores which can live for years in the soil.

If all affected plants can be removed and burned before the galls ripen and burst then there is no distribution of the spores and the ground is not infected, but if any galls have burst then you should avoid growing sweetcorn again in that area.  Just how much ground might be infected depends entirely on how far the spores might have travelled.

Incidentally, the galls are much sought after in Mexico as a highly prized culinary delicacy, but don`t ask me how to prepare them.

[Truffle]

Beat me to it Kepouros!

I was going to add that in Mexico these are often called 'Mexican truffles'. I've eaten them a few times over there and sought them out in local markets etc.

They are really really good, not sure exactly how to prepare them though?

Cheers,

Truff

[moonbells]

I had it in 2003 with the very last of my plants to ripen. Noticed the black bulbous swelling, and poked one to see what it did. So much for not bursting them... :o  well I didn't know! :-X

Discovered what they were a week later - after I'd put the haulms onto another bed after pulling them. So I then had two beds to quarantine! (5 y is recommended).
Still, that's 3 years ago and my bed system means I could rotate for another 9 years without corn going back there, so that's ok :)

moonbells

[ksia]

Rosyred,

I've just posted my experience in the mutant sweetcorn post in edible plants.

But just to add - Unfortunately it's an air born virus so there's not much you can do to prevent it. I didn't have it last year but suffered this year. All my corn is out now, but like you moonbells after I'd thought 'how interesting..what is this...lets poke about a bit"...
I'll lime the ground heavily (once the pumpkins are out) and never plant sweetcorn there again...a bit drastic but I've the space to put it else where...though if it reappears each year I guess eventually I'll have to repeat a space!