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BLACK (SOOTY) HEAD MOLD
Black, sooty head molds are commonly found in wheat. The wheat heads have a gray-to-black color or a 'sooty' appearance. The black molds or fungi usually are secondary organisms attacking the wheat head after it is mature or prematurely dead due to other problems. If the wheat heads are sterile or poorly filled, it is not due to the black head mold, but due to other problems which caused sterility. Sooty molds are typically caused by fungi such as Alternaria or Cladosporium that infect the wheat head after the plant dies prematurely due to other diseases or pests, or due to normal maturation. Premature death of wheat is usually caused by common root rot, take-all, scab, or severe leaf disease. Insect damage, such as by the wheat stem maggot, also can cause early death of wheat and predispose it to infection by the black head mold fungi.
Fungi that cause the black head mold symptoms are expected to cause little or no damage to grain if present on otherwise healthy wheat plants. In some cases, the disease may discolor grain and cause a reduction in seed germination. Sooty molds may cause a black dust at harvest, which can cause allergic reactions in some humans.
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