Dr. Kevin Korus: Corn smut, a disgusting disaster or a delicious delicacy?
Have you ever gleefully walked into your garden, anxiously anticipating your early summer sweet-corn harvest, only to find that your ears have been replaced with a large, gray mass? Do not fret; this is a very common fungal plant pathogen called smut. Corn smut occurs most often on the ear, but also can show up on the stalk, leaves and even the tassel of corn plants. The large, gray tumor that replaces the corn kernels or even the entire ear of corn is the fungus’ fruiting body, which gives rise to its reproductive spores. When the fruiting body first develops, it is a solid mass of off-white or gray tissue. When the fruiting body is mature, however, it becomes filled with thousands of tiny, black teliospores. The tumor eventually erupts, and these spores are wind-blown or rain-splashed onto other plants. They then germinate, mate and create infection filaments that can continue the disease cycle.
There isn’t much that can be done to prevent corn smut. The disease is favored by physical wounding on the ears. Increasing space between plants can help reduce bruising and wounds on the ears from when they knock into each other during periods of high wind. However, the fungus can actively penetrate leaf tissues via an appressorium, so wounding is not necessary for infection. Preventative fungicides can help reduce disease incidence but are rarely used to combat this fungus due to its unpredictable nature.
Although this fungus looks rather unappealing, it is quite delicious! I do not — and cannot — recommend harvesting and preparing this fungus yourself; however, if you are ever in a restaurant that serves huitlacoche, give it a try! Huitlacoche is the Spanish word for corn smut. Long ago the people of Mexico discovered the delicious nature of this fungal plant pathogen and have been enjoying it as a delicacy ever since. Huitlacoche has a very earthy, truffle-like flavor with hints of corn and pairs well with a variety of other foods.
Corn can be purposefully infected (inoculated) with smut spores to encourage the production of huitlacoche. This is a difficult endeavor, however, as disease incidence is affected by host susceptibility, pathogen aggressiveness and weather conditions. Because of its unpredictable nature, it truly is a culinary delicacy. If you are an adventurous eater and you like the taste of mushrooms, give huitlacoche a try the next time you find it on a restaurant menu.
For more information on corn smut, visit bit.ly/cornsmut22a and bit.ly/cornsmut22b.
— Dr. Kevin Korus is the Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Agent for UF/IFAS Extension Alachua County. Contact him at kkorus@ufl.edu or 955-2402.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Dr. Korus: Corn smut, a disgusting disaster or a delicious delicacy?
