Plant rusts, caused by Basidiomycetes of the order Uredinales, are among the most destructive plant diseases. There are about 5,000 species of rust fungi.
Rust fungi are obligate parasites in nature, but some of them have now been grown on special culture media in the laboratory. Most rust fungi produce five distinct fruiting structures with five different spore forms that appear in a definite sequence. All rust fungi produce teliospores and basidiospores. Rusts caused by fungi that produce only teliospores and basidiospores are called microcylic or short-cycled. Other rust fungi produce, in addition to teliospores and basidiospores, spermatia (formerly known as pycniospores), aeciopores, and uredospores (also known as urediospores or urediniospores) in that order. These are called macrocyclic or long-cycled rusts.
Some macrocyclic rusts, e.g., asparagus rust, complete their life cycles on a single host and are called autoecious. Others, such as stem rust of cereals, require two different or alternate hosts (e.g., wheat and barberry) for completion of their full life cycle and are called heteroecious.
CEREAL RUSTS
*All three wheat rusts are heteroecious macrocyclic rusts, meaning they have the most complex life cycle possible for rusts. The rusts begin each year by infecting an “alternate host” – a plant that is unrelated to wheat.
STEM RUST OF WHEAT
The Pathogen: Puccinia graminis tritici
Symptoms: The symptoms on wheat appear as elliptical blisters or pustules, known as uredia that develop parallel with the long axis of the stem, leaf, or leaf sheath. The epidermis covering the pustules is later ruptured producing a powdery mass of brick red-colored uredospores. Later in the season, as the plant approaches maturity, the pustules turn black as the fungus produces teliospores.
*On barberry, the symptoms appear as yellowish to orange-colored spots primarily on the leaves. Development of Disease: In cooler regions the fungus overwinters as teliospores on infected wheat debris. Black color postules are produced known as telia in which teliospores are produced. Teliospores germinate in the spring and produce a basidium on which form four basidiospores. The basidiospores are ejected forcefully into the air and are carried by air currents and landing on young barberry leaves germinate and penetrate the epidermal cells. After that, the mycelium grows mostly intercellularly. Within 3 or 4 days the mycelium develops into a spermagonium which ruptures the epidermis. Spermagonia are produced on the upper surface of leaves. In one spermagonia two structures are produced. Spermatia will behave as male and receptive hypha will behave as female. When a spermatium comes in contact with a receptive hypha of a compatible spermagonium, fertilization takes place. Thus, the dikaryotic condition is reestablished, and mycelium and aeciospores formed subsequently are dikaryotic. This dikaryotic mycelium then grows intercellularly toward the lower side of the leaf (where aecial cups and aeciospores are produced). Aeciospores are released in late spring and are carried by wind to nearby wheat plants on which they germinate and infect wheat stems, leaves, or sheaths through stomata. Aeciospores only infect wheat plants, they can’t cause infection on barberry leaves. After the mycelium grows intercellularly for a while and finally, the epidermis is broken irregularly, revealing several hundred thousand rust-colored uredospores, which give a powdery appearance to the uredium. The uredospores can reinfect wheat plants in the presence of dew, a film of water, or relative humidities near the saturation point. Their germ tubes enter the plant through stomata. Within 8 to 10 days from inoculation the mycelium produces a new uredium and more uredospores. Uredospores cause new infections on wheat plants up to the time the plant reaches maturity.
When the wheat plant approaches maturity or when the plant fails because of overwhelming infection, the uredia produce teliospores instead of uredospores or new telia may develop from recent uredospore infections. Teliospores do not germinate immediately and do not infect wheat; rather, they are the overwintering stage of the fungus. Teliospores also serve as the stage in which fusion of the two nuclei takes place and, after meiosis in the basidium, results in the production of new combinations of genetic characters of the fungus through genetic recombination. Several hundred races of the stem rust fungus are known to date, and new ones appear every year.
Aeciospores and uredospores cause infection on wheat directly or through stomata, while basidiospores cause infection on barberry through epidermis.
Disease Management: • Use of wheat varieties resistant • Eradication of barberry (alternate host). • Spray of Fungicides: Tilt (Propiconazole) by Syngenta; Nativo [Tebuconazole (triazole) + Trifloxystrobin (strobilurin)] by Bayer • Use the balanced dose of nitrogenous fertilizers as an overdose of nitrogen enhances the disease. • Mix cultivation of various wheat varieties will be helpful for low disease incidence and will also slow down the process of resistance in pathogen. • There are also some cultural practices farmers can follow to reduce the likelihood of infection. First, the remains of any infected plants should be removed and any volunteer plants (plants that seed themselves and grow without having to be planted), which can act as reservoirs of disease. Second, wheat should be planted at the correct time for the local climate to reduce the chances of infection. YELLOW RUST OF WHEAT Yellow or stripe rust of wheat (Puccinia striiformis)
For a long time, scientists assumed that Puccinia striiformis reproduced without an alternate host, but a recent paper confirmed that the fungus uses Berberis spp. (barberry) as an alternate host.
Symptoms: In mild attack the cereal pulses are formed chiefly on the leaves but in more severe attack they appear on sheath, stalk and glumes also. The green colour of the leaves fades in long steaks on which rows of small uredosori appear. Each row consists of a series oval, lemon- yellow pustules, arranged end to end. As the stripe rust produces very small yellowish-orange uredinia in straight lines along leaves (thus the name “Stripe Rust”), which distinguishes this rust from the other two wheat rusts. In sever attack this serial arrangement seems to be lost. The uredosori do not break through the epidermis as quickly as in other rusts.
Puccinia striiformis grows best in cool or cold weather, so it tends to infect wheat plants early. This often leads to stunting of the plants and can significantly impact crop yields.
BROWN RUST OF WHEAT
Leaf or brown rust of wheat (Puccinia triticina); alternate host Thalictrum
Symptoms: The urediopustules develop on the leaves, being rare on the sheath and stalk. They burst on the upper surface as points of a bright orange colour and irregularly scattered. They are bigger in size than those of yellow rust. *Puccinia triticina performs best in warm to hot weather with frequent precipitation or high humidity. Spores germinate best when there are nightly dews and when temperatures remain between 15 and 25°C. Under these conditions, the fungus grows rapidly and can produce uredinia in only 7-10 days.
