Divisi
Ergot
Claviceps africana · Fungal
Photo: Howard F. Schwartz, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org · CC BY 3.0
Ergot (Claviceps africana) is a fungus that attacks the flowers of sorghum, pearl millet, finger millet and wheat. It enters an open floret that has not yet been pollinated and grows in place of the grain, first oozing a sticky sugary liquid full of spores, then hardening into a dark, seed-shaped body. Cool, damp weather at flowering — which slows pollination and leaves the flowers open longer — is what lets it in.
Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz · CC BY-SA 4.0 
Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz · CC BY-SA 4.0
Why it matters
Ergot turns your grain into worthless dark lumps: every flower it infects makes no seed at all, and a bad outbreak in cool, wet flowering weather can cost you up to a third of your harvest (30%). It is hard to stop once it starts because it spreads fast from the sticky honeydew — carried plant-to-plant by insects, rain splash and even your own hands and tools — and the hard ergot bodies survive in the soil and in seed to start the trouble again next season. Some of these bodies are also poisonous to people and livestock, so heavily infected grain cannot be safely eaten or sold.
When to act
any creamy honeydew droplets seen oozing from florets at flowering
This guidance is general, compiled from published agronomic references including FAO and CABI. Thresholds and timing shift with your crop, your variety and the season.
In much of the region a spray is simply called mushonga — medicine. But a chemical group you cannot name is one you cannot rotate, and a product you did not write down has no pre-harvest interval you can observe. Mushonga, and other farming words →
The full ergot field guide
- Identify it
- Scout for it
- Control it
15 field-guide sections in the app
The full guide to ergot — every symptom to check, how and when to walk your field looking for it, and the controls that actually work, ranked. Built into your crop plan, so you are told to look before it costs you a harvest.
Crops it affects
Frequently asked questions
How do I identify ergot?
The first thing you see: small creamy-white to pale-pink sticky droplets oozing out of the flowers (florets) on the head, like drops of sugary syrup. This sticky liquid is called honeydew. It feels tacky, drips down onto the leaves below, and quickly draws ants, flies and bees.
When should I take action against ergot?
any creamy honeydew droplets seen oozing from florets at flowering
How do I control ergot?
Prevent it first — timing (cultural): plan your planting so that flowering falls in warm, dry weather, not in a cool, wet spell. Warm dry days let the crop pollinate quickly and close its flowers before the fungus can get in — this is your strongest single defence.
Which crops does ergot affect?
Among the crops covered here: Finger millet, Pearl millet, Sorghum, Wheat.
Catch it before it costs you a harvest
Divisi builds scouting into your crop plan — it tells you when to walk your field, what to look for at that stage, and what to do when you find it. Free for farmers, works offline.
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