[Origin of the pinkish coloration of rye grain]

The grain requires pink coloration while in the fields during grain ripening in the stage of picking maturity with this coloration being absent in the stage of gold ripeness. Of the microorganisms that form pink, red or orange pigments, Fusarium, Trichothecium roseum and Epicoccum, were detected to reveal high degree of fungal affection, particularly with Fusarium, of freshly harvested pink-colored grain and grain in the stage of gold ripeness during rainy and cool summer. It was demonstrated that upon grain storage the fungi Fusarium rapidly disappear and are detected in far less quantities on mycological analysis. It was shown that sterile grain of rye and wheat contaminated with pure cultures of Fusarium isolated from the grain samples examined shows red pigment seen during the growth of the individual strains of the fungi.