Wheat stem rust
| Puccinia graminis | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Phylum: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Pucciniomycetes |
| Subclass: | Incertae sedis |
| Order: | Pucciniales |
| Family: | Pucciniaceae |
| Genus: | Puccinia |
| Species: | P. graminis |
| Binomial name | |
|
Puccinia graminis Pers., (1794) |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
Dicaeoma anthistiriae |
|
Dicaeoma anthistiriae
Puccinia albigensis
Puccinia anthistiriae
Puccinia brizae-maximae
Puccinia cerealis
Puccinia elymina
Puccinia favargeri
Puccinia graminis f. macrospora
Puccinia graminis f.sp. avenae
Puccinia graminis f.sp. secalis
Puccinia graminis f.sp. tritici
Puccinia graminis subsp. major
Puccinia graminis var. graminis
Puccinia graminis var. stakmanii
Puccinia graminis var. tritici
Puccinia jubata
Puccinia linearis
Puccinia megalopotamica
Puccinia secalis
Puccinia vilis
Trichobasis linearis
The stem, black and cereal rusts are caused by the fungus Puccinia graminis and are a significant disease affecting cereal crops. Crop species which are affected by the disease include bread wheat, durum wheat, barley and triticale. These diseases have affected cereal farming throughout history. Since the 1950s, wheat strains bred to be resistant to stem rust have become available.Fungicides effective against stem rust are available as well.
In 1999 a new virulent race of stem rust was identified that most current wheat strains show no resistance against. The race was named TTKSK (e.g. isolate Ug99), named after the country where it was identified (Uganda) and the year of its discovery (1999). It spread to Kenya, then Ethiopia, Sudan and Yemen, and is becoming more virulent as it spreads. An epidemic of stem rust on wheat caused by race TTKSK is currently spreading across Africa, Asia and the Middle East and is causing major concern due to the large numbers of people dependent on wheat for sustenance. Scientists are working on breeding strains of wheat that are resistant to UG99. However, wheat is grown in a broad range of environments. This means that breeding programs would have extensive work remaining to get resistance into regionally adapted germplasms even after resistance is identified.
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Wikipedia