bajra ergot pearl millet sticky honeydew sclerotia toxic salt water removal
How do I control ergot in bajra and is the grain safe to eat?
BBhanwar Lal9 महीने पहले · 327 व्यू
5 जवाब
🌾Farmer.in Krishi Teamविशेषज्ञ ✓9 महीने पहले
Ergot in bajra first shows as a sticky sweet honeydew on the ear at flowering, later forming dark hard ergot bodies (sclerotia) in place of grains, and these are toxic, so ergot-contaminated grain should not be eaten or fed to animals. It is worse when rain and humidity coincide with flowering. Reduce it by growing tolerant hybrids, sowing so flowering avoids a wet spell where possible, and rotating crops. At cleaning, you can separate the lighter or differently sized ergot bodies, and floating grain in 10 percent salt water makes the ergot sclerotia float off so they can be skimmed away, after which wash and dry the good grain. If contamination is heavy, do not use the grain for food. Confirm safe handling with your local KVK.
SSuresh8 महीने पहले
The salt water float method got the black ergot bodies out of my grain. If there is a lot, I keep that lot aside, not for eating.
RRamesh Desai8 महीने पहले
In Gujarat I try to sow so flowering does not fall in a humid spell, because the honeydew always appears when it stays cloudy and damp at flowering. Adjusting the sowing date a little cut my ergot most years.
KKishan Singh7 महीने पहले
One caution: dry the washed grain fully and quickly after the salt water treatment, otherwise the damp grain spoils in store. And I keep the skimmed ergot bodies away from animals, since they are poisonous to cattle too.
SSatyawan Beniwal7 महीने पहले
In Haryana I grow a tolerant hybrid and sow with the village together so flowering passes quickly, which cut the honeydew problem. Where everyone sowed at staggered dates the ergot lingered longer in the area.