Karnal Bunt (Tiletia indica)
Karnal bunt (Tiletia indica), a fungal disease of Wheat, durum wheat and triticale, was detected in certified
durum wheat seed in Arizona in 1996. The disease was found in 3 seed lots that had been grown in Arizona and
shipped within Arizona, as well as to California, New Mexico and Texas. Each of those states currently contains
regulated areas restricting the movement of wheat seed and other regulated articles other than seed to non-infested
areas. This is the first known occurrence of Karnal bunt in the United States. An ongoing national survey of all
wheat production areas in the United States is necessary to provide information about the presence or absence of
Karnal bunt disease.
The phytosanitary requirements of some of the United States' trade partners necessitate the collection of
documental evidence that production areas are not infected at detectable levels. Without this documentation,
USDA cannot provide the certifications that allow wheat to be sold to certain foreign markets. Since Karnal
bunt is not readily detectable in the field, samples of harvested wheat must be collected and examined at a
laboratory for the presence or absence of the disease. This ongoing survey continues to determine if Karnal
bunt is present in Ohio wheat and negative results demonstrate that Ohio's wheat is safe to ship to trade
partners. Each year wheat elevators in half of the Ohio counties that produce at least a million bushels
of wheat are sampled for the disease such that all counties producing at least a million bushels are sampled
every other year. To date the disease has not been detected in Ohio wheat.
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