Wheat brown rust (Puccinia recondita)
Systematics:- Department: Basidiomycota (Basidiomycetes)
- Subdivision: Pucciniomycotina
- Class: Pucciniomycetes (Pucciniomycetes)
- Subclass: Incertae sedis (undefined)
- Order: Pucciniales (Rusty mushrooms)
- Family: Pucciniaceae (Pucciniae)
- Genus: Puccinia (Puccinia)
- Species: Puccinia recondita (Wheat brown rust)
Description:
Wheat brown rust (Puccinia recondita) is a parasitic fungus that primarily affects wheat and other grains. This fungus is a two-host parasite and has a full life cycle with five types of sporulation. In the vegetative phase, the fungus can exist in the form of eciospores, dikaryotic mycelium, urediniospores and teliospores. Telly and urediospores are specially adapted for wintering. In the spring they germinate and a basidium is formed with four basidiospores, which infect an intermediate host - hazel or basil. Spermatogonia develop on the leaves of the intermediate host, and after cross fertilization, eciospores are formed, which directly infect wheat.
Spread:
This mushroom is widespread 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 persist 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 - fire, wheatgrass, wheatgrass, fescue, bluegrass.
The fungus hibernates mainly in the form of mycelium in the leaves of winter wheat and wild cereals. When abundant morning dew appears, spores begin to sprout en masse. The peak of fungus development occurs during the flowering period of cereals.
Economic value:
Brown rust causes significant damage to grain production in various countries. In Russia, the regions where this disease occurs most often are the Volga region, the Central Black Earth Region and the North Caucasus region. Here, brown rust infects wheat almost every year. For effective control of the causative agent of this disease in agricultural farms, specially bred varieties of wheat and cereals that are resistant to leaf rust are widely used.