ERGOT IN RYE SEED.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1528, 26 August 1912, Page 8

ERGOT IN RYE SEED.

GOVERNMENT'. BIOLOGIST'S iEXAMV •;>■- ;;„;;- INATIONS. According to the Government Biologist Mr. A. H: Cockayne, a conspicuous feature of. .the ryegrass seed harvested in the Mahawatu.district during the past season has b'eenthe'large amount of ergot (Clavi■ceps/pui'pufea);in many'of the lines. Over one hundred samples of machine-dressed -Hanaw'atu seed' have been' recently examined, and not' one of them was' freo from the black sclerotia' of this fungus. • In the majority of cases the percentage ' of ergot would.not per cent by 'weight, but samples containing as much :.as 30.per,cent have, Mr. Cockayne' says, ■p'assed-through his hands. Apart; from any consideration .• as to whether the ergot will possess, any dele.t'erious.:effects,..its presence in excessive quantities renders, the price paid for the actually good seed too high unless-somo allowance is made. Another point to consider 'is-that the ergot, bulk for bulkj weighs, nearly, double that of the rye-' .grass seed,'-so'that'where it is present in laTge quantities the-bushel weight dees mot'give' a, true indication of the weight ofthc actual seed with the present machinery an-use. Tlrgot appears to be almost impossible to separate from ryegrass, but if in future seasons this fungus is eroing to -remain a regular impurity in ;Manawatu' ryegrass, special efforts will have to be iuado to ensure its separation. ..::■". ...