Wheat leaf rust
| Wheat leaf rust | |
|---|---|
| Common names | Brown rust Leaf rust |
| Causal agents | Puccinia triticina |
| Hosts | wheat |
| EPPO Code | PUCCRT |
| Distribution | Worldwide |
| Wheat leaf rust | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Pucciniomycetes |
| Order: | Pucciniales |
| Family: | Pucciniaceae |
| Genus: | Puccinia |
| Species: | P. triticina |
| Binomial name | |
| Puccinia triticina Erikss. (1899) | |
| Synonyms | |
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Wheat leaf rust (Puccinia triticina) is a fungal disease that affects wheat, barley, rye stems, leaves and grains. In temperate zones it is destructive on winter wheat because the pathogen overwinters. Infections can lead up to 20% yield loss. The pathogen is a Puccinia rust fungus. It is the most prevalent of all the wheat rust diseases, occurring in most wheat-growing regions. It causes serious epidemics in North America, Mexico and South America and is a devastating seasonal disease in India. P. triticina is heteroecious, requiring two distinct hosts (alternate hosts).