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Ergot in grasses used for feed/forage

Ergot in grasses used for feed/forage. Calviceps purpurea Sclerotia contaminate seed Soilborne sclerotia overwinter; viable approximately 3 yr in soil or longer in stored grain

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Ergot in grasses used for feed/forage

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  1. Ergot in grasses used for feed/forage • Calviceps purpurea • Sclerotia contaminate seed • Soilborne sclerotia overwinter; viable approximately 3 yr in soil or longer in stored grain • Ascospores dispersed by wind and rain infect florets; conidia formed on ovary surface serve as secondary inoculum • Grain converted into sclerotia • More abundant during moist growing seasons

  2. Ergot history (rye) • 400 B.C. Hippocrates prescribed ergoty grain to “further childbirth” • 1039 St. Anthony’s fire • 1692 Salem witch trials • 1935 LSD was synthesized during research on the active ingredients in ergot • Ergot contains Lysergic acid

  3. Ergoty grain is toxic to animals4 forms of toxicity • Convulsions • Gangrene • Hyperthermia (increased body temperature) in cattle • Agalactia (no milk) and lack of mammary gland development, prolonged gestations, and early foal deaths in mares fed heavily contaminated feed

  4. Ergot toxicity symptomsdepend on: • Type of ergot consumed • Ratio of major toxic alkaloids present in the ergot: ergotamine, ergotoxine, and ergometrine • Frequency and quantity of ingestion • Climactic conditions when ergot was growing • Species of ergot • Other impurities in the grain such as histamine and acetylcholine • Claviceps purpurea is usually associated with gangrenous ergotism

  5. Ergot control • Harvest before the heads are mature • Rotate out of grains at least 1 yr • Deep plowing • Plant only ergot-free seed • Control grassy weeds • Seed treatments not effective

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