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Glite Dictionary
false smut

false smut

9.9
A disease of rice that covers the grains with a green powder of fungus spores
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : mohos falsos
  • The appearance of a green powder on rice grains is a key symptom of false smut.

Examples

  • Rice crops can suffer from false smut, which affects the quality of the harvest.

  • Researchers are developing new methods to identify and control false smut in paddy fields.

  • The rice fields were affected by false smut.

  • Farmers are concerned about false smut this season.

  • Researchers are developing new methods to identify and control false smut in paddy fields.

  • Rice crops can suffer from false smut, which affects the quality of the harvest.

  • The appearance of a green powder on rice grains is a key symptom of false smut.

Synonyms

smut
vsfalse smut
  • Specialized
1 9.4

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

specifies green conidial coating rather than black spore masses
green smut
vsfalse smut
  • Specialized
9.9

A disease of rice that covers grains with a green powder

has identical meaning but uses a different term

Surface Forms

false smut singular
false smuts plural

Morphology

false + smut

The meaning is compositionally interpretable: 'false' signals 'not genuine' and 'smut' denotes a fungal disease, so a learner who knows both words can infer it refers to a smut-like (but not true smut) disease. However, the specific technical sense — a particular rice disease with green conidial powder and host-specific details — is specialized and not fully predictable from the constituents, so the transparency is partial.

Etymology

The disease false smut gets its name from how it looks. Infected rice grains are covered in a green, dusty layer of tiny fungus dust that looks like 'smut', so people called it false smut to show it only appears like smut and is not the same disease.