BIOLOGICAL AND ECOLOGICAL STATE OF COMMON SMUT (USTILAGO ZEAE) IN CORN SILAGE FIELDS IN THE KYZYLORDA REGION AND MEASURES TO COMBAT IT

Corn, as one of the most important grain feed crops, is of great importance in increasing gross grain yields. Corn smut (Ustilago zeae) can also cause large economic losses in susceptible sweet corn hybrids. Protection against this pathogen is mainly based on prevention. To date, many corn smut control methods have been recommended or evaluated, including crop rotation, sanitation, seed treatments, fertility modification, and biological control. Despite these frequently cited control strategies, host resistance appears to be the only effective control method for common smut in areas where Ustilago zeae is common. The purpose of the study is to study the resistance to smut against a natural infectious background of samples from a collection of corn from breeding nurseries in Kazakhstan. Based on the results of a study of the resistance of a corn collection to bladder smut against a natural infectious background, varieties were identified on whose plants symptoms of the disease were not detected: Altay 250 MV, Budan 237 MV, Tatty-2012 and Tayelsizdik-20 SV. The identified samples also had high productivity and grain yield. A high level of heritability (Hb2 – 0.85) of the disease susceptibility index among the studied samples was revealed.