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Historical Significance

Take-all has been recognized as a problem on small grains for about 150 years since first being described in Australia in 1852. The wheat farmers in Australia gave the disease its name around 1870 because of the severity of its attack and the devastation that it caused their crops. The actual cause of the disease, however, was unknown for almost 50 years with many strange hypotheses advanced including "clouds of small flies." Finally in 1890, researchers in France correctly ascribed the malady to a root-rot fungus. The original name they gave to the fungus (Ophiobolus graminis) was used for many decades until the current name (Gaeumannomyces graminis) was shown to be the correct one.

Take-all is a disease of temperate regions, although it can also occur at higher elevations in tropical areas. Therefore, it occurs worldwide wherever small grains are grown. Because the fungus is a natural inhabitant of the roots of wild grasses, the pathogen has a worldwide distribution. When soils are put into small grain production, the disease can become problematic. Little progress has been made in the use of host resistance and chemicals to control take-all on small grains. Therefore, the disease continues to be an important problem.

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