Influence of direct‐drilling of winter wheat on incidence of take‐all and eyespot

SUMMARY Winter wheat drilled directly into stubble or pasture treated with paraquat to kill the vegetation has been found to be less severely attacked by take‐all ( Ophiobolus graminis (Sacc.) Sacc.) and eyespot ( Cercosporella herpotrichoides Fron) than wheat drilled after cultivation. The reduction of take‐all is associated, not with a direct effect of the chemical, but with factors, resulting from the technique, which limit the rate of spread of the fungus in the undisturbed soil.