Reemergence of Wheat Common Bunt After Three Decades in Pakistan

Common bunt is a serious disease of wheat that may lead to yield losses in many regions of the world and can reduce yield and flour quality. Fifty wheat heads were randomly sampled from each of the six fields during a survey for disease diagnosis during the 2020 cropping season from the Seenlast area of district Chitral located in the Hindu Kush region of Pakistan. Field observations were recorded and diseased heads, bunted balls, and spores derived from bunted balls were morphologically examined using stereo and compound microscopy. Based on the disease symptoms and teliospore morphology of the studied 300 samples, the fungus was identified as Tilletia laevis, the cause of the common bunt of wheat. Disease prevalence was detected in 10-36% of the studied samples. It is the first report of common bunt occurrence from Chitral, the northernmost district of Pakistan, which confirmed the re-emergence of the disease after three decades in the country.