Extension > Garden > Diagnose a problem > What's wrong with my plant? > Vegetable > Sweet corn > Deformed or distorted leaves
Sweet corn > Leaves > Deformed or distorted leaves
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Corn Smut
Ustilago maydis
- On ears, kernels swell into large pale green to silvery brown galls, up to five inches in diameter
- As the galls on ears mature, they turn purplish black and become spongy
- Powdery, black sooty spores emerge from cracked galls
- Raised, firm pale green to brown bumps form on leaves, stems and tassels
- More information on Corn Smut
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Corn Leaf Aphid
Rhopalosiphum maidis
- Exude a sticky, shiny substance called "honeydew"
- Large numbers can occur on tassels
- Large numbers may cause curling leaves or yellow discolorations on the leaves
- Aphids are blue-green to gray and are small (1/8 inch or less), soft-bodied, and pear-shaped
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Virus
Dwarf mosaic and maize chlorotic dwarf
- Leaves have light and dark green mottling or streaks
- Infected plants are stunted and may produce many tillers
- Plants may not produce an ear, or ear is poorly developed
- More information on Virus
