By Shane Zhou
Texas AgriLife Extension Plant Pathologist
Sabin Khanal and Muhammad Imran
Texas A&M AgriLife Research PhD Students
Severe outbreaks of rice kernel smut, caused by the Tilletia horrida fungus, occurred across Texas. Smutted rice, which is characterized by replacement of rice grains with a black, sooth mass of smut spores, was observed in each of the rice fields surveyed in early August. Kernel smut widely occurred in the east and west areas of Houston, two major rice production areas in Texas.