''Tilletia controversa'' is a

fungal plant pathogen Plant diseases are diseases in plants caused by pathogens (infectious organisms) and environmental conditions (physiological factors). Organisms that cause infectious disease include fungi, oomycetes, bacteria, viruses, viroids, virus-like orga ...

. It is a fungus known to cause the smut disease TCK smut in

soft white ''Soft White'' is the eighth solo studio album by American rapper Mack 10. It was released on September 29, 2009, through Hoo-Bangin' Records with distribution via Fontana. The album was produced by Don Vito, Ervin "EP" Pope, DJ Green Lantern, D ...

and hard red winter wheats. It stunts the growth of the plants and leaves smut balls in the grain heads. When the grain is milled the smut balls emit a fishy odor that lowers the quality of the

flour Flour is a powder made by Mill (grinding), grinding raw grains, List of root vegetables, roots, beans, Nut (fruit), nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredie ...

. TCK smut exists in the western and northwestern United States, but is not considered a major problem. The disease took on policy significance because

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

applied a

zero tolerance A zero-tolerance policy is one which imposes a punishment for every infraction of a stated rule.zero tolerance, n.' (under ''zero, n.''). The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd Ed. 1989. Retrieved 10 November 2009. Italy, Japan, Singapore China, I ...

on the presence of TCK spores, resulting in a ban from 1974 to 1999 on shipments from the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

. Until the summer of 1996, China accepted shipments of U.S. wheat from the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South or the South Coast, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Tex ...

, and negotiated price discounts with the shippers to cover the cost of decontamination if traces of TCK were found. Then in June 1996, China rejected all cargoes of U.S. wheat with traces of TCK. The November 1999 U.S.-China Agricultural Cooperation Agreement removes the ban and allows imports of U.S. wheat and other grains that meet a specific TCK tolerance level, thus improving the competitiveness of U.S. wheat with

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n exports.

Symptomology

Presents in the

dough stage Dough is a malleable, sometimes elastic paste made from flour (which itself is made from grains or from leguminous or chestnut crops). Dough is typically made by mixing flour with a small amount of water or other liquid and sometimes includes ...

References

External links

* Fungal plant pathogens and diseases Wheat diseases Ustilaginomycotina Fungi described in 1874 Fungus species {{fungus-plant-disease-stub