This tip was provided by:
Calvin Trostle, Extension Agronomy, Lubbock, 806-746-6101, ctrostle@ag.tamu.edu
Statewide
Pictures of Grain Sorghum Diseases–Resources
In the previous Sorghum Tip we discussed some unusual foliar disease symptoms (zonate leaf spot) in grain sorghum that were more prominent in much of Texas this year. If there is a field question I often rely on published pictures to understand what I might be looking at in grain sorghum for possible diseases (the same goes for nutrient deficiencies and herbicide injury symptoms). Where are resources for grain sorghum?
The dated (1985) but still relevant Texas A&M Sorghum Diseases Atlas at http://amarillo.tamu.edu/files/2010/11/SorghumDiseases.pdf is still useful though of course the pictures are grainy (other crop diseases and a few updates for grain sorghum, some with a High Plains emphasis, may be accessed at http://sickcrops.tamu.edu). A newer publication from Texas A&M Plant Pathology is not currently on the web (only the print descriptions of plant diseases, for sorghum see http://plantdiseasehandbook.tamu.edu/food-crops/cereal-crops/grain-sorghum/; we are looking at getting this publication back on the Web via extra-A&M links).
Kansas State recently published S125 “Diagnosing Sorghum Production Problems in Kansas” (2014) which also has its own series of pictures and descriptions of common sorghum diseases, http://www.bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/pubs/S125.pdf
A Comprehensive Guide for Grain Sorghum Diseases and other Maladies
“Compendium of Sorghum Diseases (2nd Edition)”, 2000 is published by the American Pathological Society, and it is available for purchase by clicking here. Texas A&M AgriLife’s Dr. Odvody is a co-author. I often carry my copy with me in the truck during the summer. It has over 130 descriptions and photos of symptoms of numerous of sorghum diseases, plant nutrient deficiency symptoms, herbicide injury symptoms, and environmental injury. If you work with sorghum a lot, I recommend you get a copy.
