Brown rust of wheat (Puccinia recondita) photo and description

Brown rust of wheat (Puccinia recondita)

Description:

Brown rust of wheat (Puccinia recondita) is a parasitic fungus that primarily infects wheat but also other cereals. This fungus is a two host parasite and has a complete life cycle with five types of sporulation. In the vegetative phase, the fungus can exist as aeciospores, dikaryotic mycelium, urediniospores, and teliospores. Teleito- and uredospores are specially adapted for wintering. In spring, they germinate and form a basidium with four basidiospores that infect the intermediate host – hazel or cornflower. Spermatogonia develop on the leaves of the intermediate host, and after cross-fertilization, aetsiospores are formed that directly infect wheat.

Spread:

This fungus is widespread everywhere where wheat is grown. Therefore, no country is immune from the event of a mass destruction of crops. Since in the northern regions and in Siberia, spores are not exposed to summer drought and heat, they will survive better, and the likelihood of crop disease increases significantly. At the same time, brown rust of wheat affects both winter and spring crops, as well as other types of cereals – bonfire, wheatgrass, wheatgrass, fescue, bluegrass.

The fungus overwinters mainly in the form of mycelium in the leaves of winter wheat and wild cereals. With the appearance of abundant morning dew, spores begin to germinate en masse. The peak of the development of the fungus falls on the period of flowering of cereals.

Economic value:

Brown rust causes significant damage to grain production in different countries. In Our Country, the regions where this disease occurs most often are the Volga region, the Central Black Earth region and the region of the North Caucasus. Here brown rust infects wheat almost every year. To effectively combat the causative agent of this disease in agricultural enterprises, specially bred varieties of wheat and cereals that are resistant to leaf rust are widely used.