Environment and Plant-Seed Transmission

Abstract

The predisposition of the young seed to a given pathogen may change from one day to another. From the beginning of flowering until the maturation of the seed, a series of changes rapidly occurs in the developing structure. The weather conditions during this period of the seed crop decide the extent of dissemination, process of inoculation and eventually the actual infection just at the point when the seed primordium or maturing seed is susceptible, and the nature of this infection, its extent and location in the seed. Dry weather and favourable winds during the flowering of barley and wheat disseminate loose smut spores but different conditions may be decisive for the establishment of infection, such as higher air humidity.