3.

Diseases of Wheat

Black or stem rust - Puccinia graminis tritici

Symptoms
Symptoms are produced on almost all aerial parts of the wheat plant but are most
common on stem, leaf sheaths and upper and lower leaf surfaces. Uredial pustules (or sori) are
oval to spindle shaped and dark reddish brown (rust) in color. They erupt through the epidermis
of the host and are surrounded by tattered host tissue. The pustules are dusty in appearance due
to the vast number of spores produced. Spores are readily released when touched.

Symptoms

As the infection advances teliospores are produced in the same pustule. The color of the
pustule changes from rust color to black as teliospore production progresses. If a large number of
pustules are produced, stems become weakened and lodge. The pathogen attacks other host
(barberry) to complete its life cycle. Symptoms are very different on this woody host. Other
spores are Pycnia (spermagonia) produced on the upper leaf surface of barberry which appears as
raised orange spots. Small amounts of honeydew that attracts insects are produced in this
structure. Aecia, produced on the lower leaf surface, are yellow. They are bell-shaped and extend
as far as 5 mm from the leaf surface.
Brown or leaf rust - Puccinia triticina (P. recondita)
Symptom
 The most common site for symptoms is on leaf blades, however, sheaths, glumes and
awns may occasionally become infected and exhibit symptoms. Uredia are seen as small, circular
orange blisters or pustules on the upper surface of leaves.

Symptoms

Orange spores are easily dislodged and may cover clothing, hands or implements. When
the infection is severe leaves dry out and die. Since inoculum is blown into a given area,
symptoms are often seen on upper leaves first. As plants mature, the orange urediospores are
replaced by black teliospores. Pustules containing these spores are black and shiny since the
epidermis does not rupture. Yield loss often occurs as a result of infection by Puccinia recondita
f. sp. tritici. Heavy infection which extends to the flag leaf results in a shorter period of grain fill
and small kernels.
Yellow or stripe rust - Puccinia striiformis
Symptom
Mainly occur on leaves than the leaf sheaths and stem. Bright yellow pustules (Uredia)
appear on leaves at early stage of crop and pustules are arranged in linear rows as stripes. The
stripes are yellow to orange yellow. The teliospores are also arranged in long stripes and are dull
black in colour.
 Symptoms

Pathogen
The uredospores of rust pathogen are almost round or oval in shape and bright orange in
colour. The teliospores are bright organge to dark brown, two celled and flattened at the top.
Sterile paraphyses are also present at the end of sorus.
Disease Cycle
In India, all these rusts appear in wheat growing belt during Rabi crop season. Uredosori
turn into teliosori as summer approaches. The inoculum survives in the form of uredospores /
teliospores in the hills during off season on self sown crop or volunteer hosts, which provide an
excellent source of inoculum. In India, role of alternate host (Barberis) is not there in completing
the life cycle.
The fungus is inhibited by temperatures over 20˚C although strains tolerant of high
temperatures do exist. The complete cycle from infection to the production of new spores can
take as little as 7 days during ideal conditions. The disease cycle may therefore be repeated many
times in one season. During late summer, the dark teliospores may be produced. These can
germinate to produce yet another spore type, the basidiospore, but no alternate host has been
found. Although the teliospores seem to have no function in the disease cycle they may
contribute to the development of new races through sexual recombination.
 Life cycle of Puccinia graminis
Favourable Conditions
• Low temperature (15-20˚C) and high humidity during November – December favour
black and brown rusts.
• Temperature less < 10o favours yellow rusts.
Disease cycle
Uredospores and dormant mycelium survive on stubbles and straws and also on weed
hosts and self sown wheat crops. Wind borne uredospores from hills are lifted due to cyclonic
winds and infect the crop in the plains during crop season.

Management
• Mixed cropping with suitable crops.
• Avoid excess dose of nitrogenous fertilizers.
• Spray Zineb at 2.5 kg/ha or Propioconazole @ 0.1 %.
 • Grow resistant varieties like PBW 343, PBW 550, PBW 17

Loose smut - Ustilago nuda tritici (Ustilago tritici)

Symptoms
It is very difficult to detect infected plants in the field until heading. At this time, infected
heads emerge earlier than normal heads. The entire inflorescence is commonly affected and
appears as a mass of olive-black spores, initially covered by a thin gray membrane. Once the
membrane ruptures, the head appears powdery.

Symptoms

Spores are dislodged, leaving only the rachis intact. In some cases remnants of glumes
and awns may be present on the exposed rachis. Smutted heads are shorter than healthy heads
due to a reduction in the length of the rachis and peduncle. All or a portion of the heads on an
infected plant may exhibit these symptoms. While infected heads are shorter, the rest of the plant
is slightly taller than healthy plants. Prior to heading affected plants have dark green erect leaves.
Chlorotic streaks may also be visible on the leaves.
Disease Cycle
Ears of infected plants emerge early. The spores released from the infected heads land on
the later emerging florets and infect the developing seed. Infection during flowering is favored
by frequent rain showers, high humidity and temperature. The disease is internally seed borne,
where pathogen infects the embryo in the seed.

Management
Treat the seed with Vitavax @ 2g/kg seed before sowing. Burry the infected ear heads in
the soil, so that secondary spread is avoided.

Flag smut - Urocystis tritici

Symptoms
The symptoms can be seen on stem, clum and leaves from late seedling stage to maturity.
The seedling infection leads to twisting and drooping of leaves followed by withering. Grey to
grayish black sori occurs on leaf blade and sheath. The sorus contains black powdery mass of
spores.
 Symptoms
Pathogen
Aggregated spore balls, consisting 1-6 bright globose, brown smoth walled spores
surrounded by a layer of flat sterile cells.

s
Spore balls
Favourable Conditions
• Temperature of 18-24˚C.
• Relative humidity 65% and above.
Disease cycle
Seed and soil borne. Smut spores are viable for more than 10 years.
Management
• Treat the seeds with carboxin at 2g /kg.
• Grow resistant varieties like Pusa 44 and WG 377.
Hill bunt or Stinking smut - Tilletia caries / T.foetida
Symptoms
The fungus attacks seedling of 8-10 days old and become systemic and grows along the
tip of shoot. At the time of flowering hyphae concentrate in the inflorescence and spikelets and
transforming the ovary into smut sorus of dark green color with masses of chlamydospores. The
diseased plants mature earlier and all the spikelets are affected.

Symptoms on earhead and grains

Pathogen
Reticulate, globose and rough walled. No resting period. Germinate to produce primary
sporidia which unite to form ‘H’ shaped structure.

Spores and its germination

Life cycle
The spores on the seed surface germinate along with the seed. Each produces a short
fungal thread terminating in a cluster of elongated cells. These then produce secondary spores
which infect the coleoptiles of the young seedlings before the emergence of the first true leaves.
The mycelium grows internally within the shoot infecting the developing ear. Affected plants
develop apparently normally until the ear emerges when it can be seen that grain sites have been
replaced by bunt balls. In India disease occurs only in Northern hills, where wheat is grown.
Favourable Conditions
• Temperature of 18-20˚C.
• High soil moisture.
Disease cycle
Externally seed borne
Management
• Treat the seeds with carboxin or carbendazim at 2g/kg.
• Grow the crop during high temperature period.
• Adopt shallow sowing.
• Grow resistant varieties like Kalyan sona, S227, PV18, HD2021, HD4513 and HD4519.

Karnal bunt - Neovassia indica

Symptoms
Symptoms of Karnal bunt are often difficult to distinguish in the field due to the fact that
incidence of infected kernels on a given head is low. There may be some spreading of the glumes
due to sorus production but it is not as extensive as that observed with common bunt. Symptoms
are most readily detected on seed after harvest.

Symptoms

The black sorus, containing dusty spores is evident on part of the seed, commonly
occurring along the groove. Heavily infected seed is fragile and the pericarp ruptures easily. The
foul, fishy odor associated with common bunt is also found with karnal bunt. The odor is caused
by the production of trimethylamine by the fungus. Seed that is not extensively infected may
germinate and produce healthy plants.

Foot rot - Pythium graminicolum and P. arrhenomanes

Symptoms
 The disease mainly occurs in seedlings and roots and rootlets become brown in colour.
Seedlings become pale green and have stunted growth. Fungus produces sporangia and
zoospores and oospores.

Favourable Conditions
Wet weather and high rainfall.
Disease cycle
Through soil and irrigation water.
Management
• Follow crop rotation.
• Treat the seeds with Carboxin or Carbendazim at 2g/kg.

Powdery mildew - Erysiphe graminis var. tritici

Symptoms
Greyish white powdery growth appears on the leaf, sheath, stem and floral parts.
Powdery growth later become black lesion and cause drying of leaves and other parts.

Symptoms
Pathogen
Fungus produces septate, superficial, hyaline mycelium on leaf surface with short
conidiophores. The conidia are elliptical, hyaline, single celled, thin walled and produced in
chains. Dark globose cleistothecia containing 9-30 asci develop with oblong, hyaline and
thinwalled ascospores.

Conidia and conidiophores

Disease cycle
Fungus remains in infected plant debris as dormant mycelium and asci. Primary spread is
by the ascospores and secondary spread through airborne conidia.

Favourable Conditions
• Temperature of 20-21˚C.
Management
• Spray Wettable Sulphur 0.2% or Carbendazim @ 500 g/ha

Leaf blight - Alternaria triticina / Bipolaris sorokiniana

Symptoms
Reddish brown oval spots appear on young seedlings with bright yellow margin. In
severe cases, several spots coalesce to cause drying of leaves. It is a complex disease, having
association of A.triticina, B.sorokiniana and A. alternate.
 Symptoms

Disease cycle
Primary spread is by externally seed-borne and soil borne conidia. Secondary spread by
air-borne conidia.
Favourable Conditions
• Temperature of 25˚C and high relative humidity.
Management
• Spray the crop with Mancozeb or Zineb at 2 kg/ha.

Other minor diseases

Helminthosporium leaf spot: Helminthosporium spp.
Tundu or yellow ear rot: Corynebacterium tritici + Anguina tritici
Seedling blight: Rhizoctonia solani and Fusarium sp
Sclerotinia rot: Sclerotinia sclerotiorum
Molya disease: Heterodera avenae (Nematode)