Does “Tulip root” in Oats commonly arise from Seed-borne Infection?

Extract

It has been known for many years that the stem eelworm, Anguillulina dipsaci, can be carried in or upon the seeds of a number of different plants. Kühn (1858) originally found the parasite in the diseased seed heads and seed of the teasel or fuller's thistle. Bos (1888) discovered the worms in the flowers of the onion, Allium Cepa, and found in one case 3 per cent. of the seeds were infected. Godfrey (1924) found infestations of the parasite in the flower heads of cat's-ear, Hypochoeris radicata, and dandelion, Taraxacum officinale, and discovered in both hosts that living worms occurred within the seed coats. He also obtained diseased seedlings by sowing infected seed of both hosts. Hodson (1926) reported the occurrence of the parasite in quiescent form beneath the pales of oats harvested from fields badly affected with “tulip root” and obtained small numbers of infected seedlings by sowing such seed. The number of such cases was, however, so small that he considered their occurrence might be accidental. Robertson (1928) investigating “tulip root” in oats, found the parasite in the panicles of affected plants giving rise to abortive flowers. In a number of oat grains from distorted panicles he found small numbers of the parasite between the glumes and pales and between the pales and the kernel and was able to show that after storage for a few months the worms could be revived by soaking the grains in water. He did not pursue his studies to the extent of obtaining diseased seedlings from such infected seed. Cobb (1929) found samples of seed of red clover and lucerne, as cleaned by commercial processes, yielded the parasite in a living condition when soaked in water.