Stripe or Yellow Rust of Wheat
Stripe (Yellow) Rust of Wheat:
Description and Importance:
- Generally occur throughout wheat production areas at low temperature
- Losses due to this are 50-55% with some field destroyed completely
Etiology:
Causal organism: Puccinia striformis f.sp. tritici
Order: Uredinales
Family: Puccinaceae
Symptoms:
- Small yellowish uredia appear in narrow linear rows on the leaf.
- Uredia can also be seen on spikes.
- Yellow spore mass is exposed for wind dispersal.
- Plants show poorly developed root system
Disease cycle:
- Uredospores are single source of inoculum
- Inoculum comes from volunteer plants
- Fungus survive between crop seasons by dormant mycelium & uredia
- Windblown uredospores are secondary source
Epidemiology:
- Free water on leaves & temp 0-25°C required for spore germination
- Appear in Dec, Jan, opt temp 12.8-18.3°C
Management:
- Resistant varieties (Anaj 2017, Akbar 2019)
- Cultivation of early sowing and early maturing varieties.
- Avoiding thick sowing and heavy irrigation.
- Avoiding heavy doses of nitrogenous fertilizers.
- Judicious use of potassic fertilizer help in minimizing the susceptibility of plants
- Use fungicides i.e. Nativo, Bayleton, Tilt