The lug of the rye ravages cultures in French -speaking Switzerland

Several French -speaking cultures are struck by the lug of the rye, a fungus in particular at the origin of the LSD. The latter can cause dementia, hallucinations, necrosis, even death.

From Vaud to Geneva, small black grains came to slip into the cereal harvests, aroused the misunderstanding of several farmers. After inquiring, the latter had the annoying surprise to learn that they were sclerotes of lord ergot, as reported by RTS.

A discovery as undesirable as it is problematic since this fungus, of which the LSD is derived, is highly toxic. According to the public media, the claviceps purpurs, of its scientific name, has indeed caused the death of millions of people over the centuries.

The lug of the rye can notably cause, hallucinations, dementia, necrosis and other circulatory disorders. And it is also dangerous for animals.

Rare and costly machines

Consequently, the presence of the fungus can be synonymous with considerable losses for impacted agriculture. According to RTS, 10 to 15% of the Geneva cereal production is affected.

For about “three grains” contaminated by “kilo of wheat”, the harvest is “downgraded” and becomes cattle food sold for “half of the initial price”, explains a farmer in the public media. If it turns out that cereals are even unfit for consumption for animals, they are simply thrown.

According to RTS, machines exist, however, to sort and eliminate infected grains, but they are unfortunately rare and represent a significant cost for cereal trees. In order to stem the propagation of this fungal disease, the Swiss Federation of Cereal producers has issued a list of recommendations to avoid contamination. (Jzs)