Wheat Rust Diseases

Leaf rust, also known as brown rust, is one of the three major types of rust infections in wheat.

Rust diseases represent the most economically significant fungal diseases in wheat and other cereal crops worldwide, and they are widely distributed across wheat growing regions. With the capacity to form new strains of fungus, rusts can attack even previously resistant varieties. Rust diseases possess the ability to spread and travel long distances by dispersal of windborne spores and can rapidly develop under optimal weather conditions.

The three rust diseases affecting wheat are leaf, stem and stripe rust. Leaf rust is the most common of the three diseases. In some states, leaf rust disease occurs every year. Stem rust is not typically as prevalent as other rusts because many varieties are now resistant to the disease. Stripe rust is becoming an increasingly important disease, with recent outbreaks in the Great Plains states.

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How to Prevent Food From Becoming a Weapon of War

By Marco Ferroni

Hunger recognizes neither borders nor flags, and the global community must use every resource at its disposal to prevent food from becoming a weapon of war.

Just as Europe is now counting the cost of relying on imported fossil fuels, the crisis brings into stark relief the world’s reliance on limited sources of a critical staple food. With gas supplies already being weaponized, the potential remains for global food security to be held hostage in the conflict, with wheat a bargaining chip for the lives of millions.

Wheat prices have been classed as highly volatile , spiking in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But in a commodity market that trades in futures — which surged by 50 percent since the war began — the full impact is yet to be felt, with Ukraine’s next wheat harvest due from June.

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