A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases <http://www.isid.org>
Date: 27 March 2009
Source: The Hindu, Business Line [edited] <http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blnus/07271536.htm>
Wheat crops in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh are facing a threat
from a new race of yellow rust that can damage the entire
produce unless farmers shift from the current wheat variety, DBW
343, a senior agricultural scientist said.
"This year [2009], we are feeling the heat of yellow rust, and
it is a warning that if farmers do not shift from DBW 343 to
disease resistant varieties like DBW 17 and DBW 550 soon, it can
become a real threat for the wheat crops," said Mr Jag Shoren,
Directorate of Wheat Research (DWR).
Yellow rust is a fungal disease that can completely destroy
wheat and barley if it appears at an early crop stage. The
disease can be identified if the yellow spores appear and leave
a powdery kind of residue when wiped. The DBW 343 variety, grown
in about 6 million hectares spread across Punjab, Haryana,
Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and some parts of
Bihar, will be completely destroyed if farmers do not take
urgent action, he said.
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
[Stripe rust (also called yellow rust) of cereal crops is caused
by the fungus _Puccinia striiformis_ var. _striiformis_. It
causes yellow leaf stripes and stunting of plants with yield
losses of 40 to 100 percent. It affects wheat, some barley
varieties, triticale, and a number of grass species. Spores are
wind dispersed in several cycles during the cropping season.
Grasses and volunteer crop plants may generate a "green bridge"
providing inoculum for the next crop cycle. Disease monitoring
is important so timely action can be taken to limit the spread
of the pathogen as well as build-up of inoculum.
Disease management includes the use of resistant varieties,
fungicide applications, and control of volunteer [self-sown]
crops.
New pathogen strains with increased virulence have been reported
in recent years from wheat growing areas in Europe, North
America and Australia, and resistance breeding programmes have
been set up to counteract this trend. New strains have also been
suspected to contribute to current difficulties of controlling
the disease in China (ProMED-mail post no. 20090208.0579). In
India, several outbreaks of stripe rust have been reported
recently (see 2009 ProMED-mail posts listed below), and the
report above now confirms the emergence of a new strain
associated with them.
Maps
India:
<http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/india/images/IndiaMap_tourism.gif>
&
<http://healthmap.org/r/006i>
Pictures
Stripe rust on wheat leaf:
<http://utextension.tennessee.edu/fieldCrops/wheat/Wheat_photos/Wheat_StripeRust.jpg>
and
<http://www.grdc.com.au/uploads/images/Stripe%20rust%20Colin%20Wellings%20ACRCP.JPG>
Stripe rust on wheat head:
<http://cril.cimmyt.org/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=950&g2_serialNumber=2>
Stripe rust on resistant and susceptible wheat cultivars:
<http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/path-ext/factSheets/wheat/Wheatimages/wheats1.jpg>
Barley with stripe rust:
<http://www.ipmcenters.org/cropprofiles/docs/Graphics/WAbarleyStripeRust.jpg>
Ryegrass with stripe rust:
<http://plant-disease.ippc.orst.edu/plant_images/ryegrass_stripe_rust.jpg>
Links
Additional news story:
<http://in.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idINDEL36286220090318>
Information on wheat stripe rust:
<http://pnw-ag.wsu.edu/smallgrains/Stripe%20Rust.html>,
<http://www.ars.usda.gov/Main/docs.htm?docid=9918&pf=1&cg_id=0>,
<http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/158964/stripe-rust-in-wheat.pdf>
&
<http://www.oznet.k-state.edu/path-ext/factSheets/Wheat/Wheat%20Stripe%20Rust.asp>
Stripe rust management:
<http://www.grdc.com.au/uploads/documents/striperustmgt.pdf>
and <http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/r730100511.html>
Examples of stripe rust resistance breeding:
<http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/article/2009/01/14/41411_grain-and-hay.html>
&
<http://jag.igr.poznan.pl/2005-Volume-46/3/pdf/2005_Volume_46_3-259-263.pdf>
_P. striiformis_ taxonomy:
<http://www.indexfungorum.org/Names/NamesRecord.asp?RecordID=427989>
- Mod.DHA]
[see also
in the
archive:
Wheat rusts - Kenya, India, Australia 20090312.1019 Rust
diseases, wheat, mustard - India: (JK) 20090305.0897 Stripe
rust, wheat - China 20090208.0579
2008
----
Stripe rust, wheat - Australia (02): (VIC) 20080916.2897 Stripe
rust, wheat - Australia: (QLD, NSW), alert 20080716.2156 Wheat
stripe rust, oilseed rape sclerotinia - China 20080408.1297
Stripe rust, wheat - Denmark: new strains 20080211.0542
2007
----
Stripe rust, wheat - Australia (SA): new strain 20070921.3135
Stripe rust, wheat & wheat streak mosaic - Australia (SA, WA)
20070830.2860 Fungal diseases, wheat & pulses - Australia (SA)
20070821.2729 Ergot & stripe rust, cereals - USA (MT)
20070706.2144 Stripe rust, wheat - USA, Australia 20070614.1950
Wheat stripe rust, wheat - China 20070413.1230
2005
----
Stripe rust, wheat - Australia 20051031.3173 Wheat stripe rust -
USA (FL) 20050601.1521
2004
----
Wheat stripe rust - Australia (NSW) 20040928.2683 Wheat stripe
rust - Australia (NSW): alert 20040810.2215 Wheat stripe rust -
China 20040429.1191 and older items in the archives]
