Here the farmers throw the corn smut away but if they knew there was a market for fresh corn smut in Mexican food they could easily sell it at the farmers market. The trick would be to set aside an area of corn and overwater the husks to promote the growth of the fungi. Usually this grows when there is too much rain, humidity and heat when the corn is developing in the husk.
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Not sure which husk you mean. I am in Germany btw and the maize must have brought this fungus with it over from the Americas. Or its spores made it here by themselves? Quite interesting, actually...
This was on the stem and does not seem to have affected the ears, at all.
I had a normal harvest from the plant and noticed the fungus only later.
I have no water supply in the garden, so I can only hope for rain, anyways :)
If I get a lot of it, I know what to look for, now.
Yeah the fungus usually grows on the ear of the corn underneath the husk (leaves). But it will also eat just the fiberous stock too. I have no idea how the spores got there, perhaps they are all over the place in the atmosphere and randomly land on the preferable growing place.