Crazy Top Downy Mildew (fungus - Sclerophthora macrospora): This fungal disease can be troublesome in low lying areas that become flooded. Infected plants have thick, stiff, twisted, pale green leaves with bumpy surfaces. The leaves often turn downward, and the plants produce many shoots or suckers giving a bunchy appearance. Infected plants do not produce heads or produce a proliferation of leafy tissue in place of the head. Wild and cultivated grasses can serve as sources of inoculum. There are differences in susceptibility among grain sorghum hybrids but these differences are not significant. Installing drainage structures and diverting water movement to avoid flooding is the most reasonable suggestion for control at this time.
