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Glite Dictionary
loose smut

loose smut

9.9
A disease of wheat or barley that turns the grain head into a powder of fungus
  • noun
  • /lus smʌt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : mugre suelta
  • The presence of loose smut can drastically reduce grain yields if left untreated.

Examples

  • Many wheat fields were devastated by loose smut infections this season.

  • Farmers use resistant varieties to protect crops from loose smut.

  • The wheat was affected by loose smut this season.

  • Farmers are concerned about loose smut in their barley crops.

  • Farmers use resistant varieties to protect their crops from loose smut.

  • Many wheat fields were devastated by loose smut infections this season.

  • The presence of loose smut can drastically reduce grain yields if left untreated.

Synonyms

smut
vsloose smut
  • Specialized
1 9.4

A plant disease that makes black powder on grain plants like wheat

is a specific form where the plant head itself becomes the powdery spores
smuts
vsloose smut
  • Specialized
8.9

A disease caused by a fungus that makes dark powdery spots on grain plants

is a single disease where the grain head turns into a powdery spore mass

Surface Forms

loose smut singular
loose smuts plural

Morphology

loose + smut

The meaning is transparently composed from 'loose' (not tightly packed, powdery) modifying 'smut' (a fungal disease producing powdery spores), so the phrase refers to a form of smut that produces loose, powdery spores affecting grain heads. This simple adjective+noun composition follows normal English patterns and would be inferable by a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.

Etymology

Loose smut comes from the way the grain head becomes a loose dark powder of fungus, with smut naming the dark spores and loose showing they fall out easily. So loose smut means a 'disease' that turns the grain head into powder and can ruin the crop.