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Leaf Rust

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Grace Prabhakar
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17 views

Leaf Rust

Uploaded by

Grace Prabhakar
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Leaf Rust: Wheat

Dr. Grace Prabhakar


Assistant Professor
Department of Biotechnology, SJC
Introduction
• Rusts are important fungal pathogens of angiosperms and
gymnosperms
• Obligate parasites, biotrophs – parasitism- specific hosts
• Cereal rusts: heteroecious and macrocyclic – 2 taxonomically
unrelated hosts , 5 spore stage cycle
• Disseminated through wind as basidiospores, aeciospores,
urediniospores
• Puccinia triticina: most common wheat rust globally
• Highly variable for virulence and molecular polymorphism
• Variability assessed by molecular markers
• Many races of the pathogen are found
Uredinia of Puccinia triticina (leaf rust) on flag leaves of wheat.
Photo by Mark Hughes, USDA-ARS.
Life Cycle of the Rust Fungus
Disease Cycle
• No symptoms until 7-15 days after infection
• Oval pustules of uredinia of powdery brick red urediniospores break
through the epidermal surface both on stems and leaves.

• Urediniospores are covered with spines.

• Later in the season, pustules (telia) appear on the grass. Teliospores


are thick walled and 2-celled
• Pycnia appear on Barberry (alternate host) on the upper leaf
surface. Pycniospores are produced in a sticky honeydew.

• 5-10 days later, cup shaped structures filled with powdery


orange-yellow aeciospores appear on the lower leaf surface.

• Aeciospores have a slightly warty surface


Disease Management
• Barberry Eradication
Removal of the alternate hosts ensures minimizing the amount
of primary inoculum in the field

Reduces the genetic variability by eliminating the sexual cycle.


• Cultural Practices
Excessive foliar moisture and N fertigation favours rust.
Irrigation during summer, no-till/ minimum tillage favours rust
• Genetic resistance
Most commonly used and most effective method
50 distinct genes race-specific (vertical) resistance , most
successful was Sr31 – rye through inter-specific cross, linked
to high yields
Sr31 overcome in 1999, Ug99

Ug99 spread all over the world, Borlaug Global Rust Initiative –
Cornell University, CYMMIT, ICARDA, FAO, ARS of USDA

Combining 2 or more vertical resistance genes could enhance


the longevity of resistance (short term)

Minor genes with additive effects (long term)- horizontal


resistance
• Chemical Control

Sterol biosynthesis inhibitors (SBIs) and demethylation inhibitors


(DMIs) are generally used

Potential Approaches to management


Crop breeding for altered guard cell morphology- appresorium
formed by urediniospores only after recognition of guard cells

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