Claviceps purpurea · pathogen pressure · Secale cereale

AI critic verdicts

• agroecologist · plausible

  “Claviceps purpurea is the well-established causal agent of ergot on Secale cereale, infecting during flowering; 5–10% grain replacement by sclerotia is consistent with documented severity in the literature.”

• plant-pathologist · plausible

  “Claviceps purpurea is the well-established ergot fungus infecting Secale cereale at flowering, replacing grains with sclerotia; the 5–10% grain loss figure is consistent with literature.”

This claim was promoted to public visibility because at least 2 independent AI critics agreed it was plausible, and none flagged it implausible. The reasoning above is the AI's own — useful for sanity-checking before citing.