Definition

Noun: 1. A disease of wheat: A fungal disease affecting wheat plants, characterized by the transformation of the grain kernels into foul-smelling, greasy, black masses of spores. The scientific name for the fungus causing this disease is Tilletia caries.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The farmer's wheat crop was devastated by an outbreak of stinking smut.
  • Stinking smut can significantly reduce both the yield and quality of harvested wheat.
  • Controlling stinking smut often requires treating the seeds before planting.

Advanced Usage

• The term is primarily used in agricultural and botanical contexts. It is a common name for a specific plant pathology.
• It can be used descriptively to emphasize ruin or contamination, though this is less common.
  • The scandal was the stinking smut on an otherwise successful administration.

Variants and Related Words

• Bunt: This is another common name for the same disease (stinking smut is also called "common bunt").
• Tilletia caries: The scientific (Latin) name for the fungus that causes stinking smut.
• Covered smut: A related but different disease affecting other cereal grains like barley and oats.

Synonyms

• Common bunt
• Hill bunt (an older term)

Related Phrases and Collocations

• Infected with stinking smut: Describes wheat plants or fields affected by the disease.
  • The entire field was infected with stinking smut.
• Stinking smut spores: Refers to the reproductive particles of the fungus.
  • The stinking smut spores are released during harvest.

Noun

1. similar to Tilletia caries
2. disease of wheat characterized by replacement of the grains with greasy masses of smelly smut spores