Yellow rust, also known as stripe rust, is one of the three wheat rust diseases principally found in wheat grown in cooler environments. Such locations are generally associated with northern latitudes or cooler seasons.
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This disease was first discovered by Gadd in 1977, but proper identification as another rust-type disease was done by Eriksson and Henning in 1986. They named it Puccinia glumarum. At present, Puccinia striiformis is the name used by Hylander et al. (1953).
"Yellow rust" takes its name from the appearance of yellow-colored stripes produced parallel along the venations of each leaf blade. These yellow stripes are actually characteristic of uredinia that produce yellow colored urediniospores. Primary hosts of yellow rust are Triticum aestivum (bread wheat), Triticum turgidum (durum wheat), triticale, and a few Hordeum vulgare (barley) cultivars; the secondary host is still unknown.
The disease usually occurs early in the growth season, when temperature ranges between 2 and 15°C; but it may occur to a maximum of 23°C. High humidity and rainfall are favorable conditions for increasing the infection on both leaf blade and leaf sheath, even on spikes when in epidemic form. Symptoms are stunted and weakened plants, shriveled grains, fewer spikes, loss in number of grains per spike and grain weight. Losses can be 50%, but in severe situation 100% is vulnerable. In countries where wheat is grown in winters or at high elevations, yellow rust is a common threat, but not more significant than wheat leaf rust and stem rust, which are continuous threats in all wheat-growing countries.
Breeding resistant varieties is the only known method to control this rust.
Doodson, J.K., Manners, J.G. and Myers, A. (1964). Some effects of yellow rust (Puccinia striiformis) on the growth and yield of spring wheat. Ann. Bot. 28: 459-472.
Eriksson, J. and E. Henning. 1896. Die Getreideroste. Ihre Geschichte und Natur sowie Massregein gegen dieselben. P. A. Norstedt and Soner, Stockholm. 463 pp.
Hogg, W.H., C.E. Hounam, A.K. Malik, and J.C. Zadoks. 1969. Meteorological factors affecting the epidemiology of wheat rusts. WMO Tech Note 99. 143 pp.
Hylander, N., I. Jorstad and J.A. Nannfeldt. 1953. Enumeratio uredionearum Scandinavicarum. Opera Bot. 1:1-102.
Poehlman J.M. and D.A. Sleper. 1995. Breeding Field Crops. 4th Ed. Iowa State Press/Ames, Iowa 50014.
Stubbs, R.W. 1988. Stripe rust. pp. 61–101 in A.P. Roelfs and W.R. Bushnell, eds. The Cereal Rusts Vol. II: Diseases, Distribution, Epidemiology and Control. Academic Press, Orlando.