(Daily News Scan - DNS English) What is Yellow Rust?
An advisory was released regarding Yellow rust, by the Punjab Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department. Yellow Rust was detected in wheat crops in parts of Punjab and Haryana. In India, specially in the Northern Hill Zone and the North-Western Plain Zone, yellow rust is a major disease. It spreads easily during the starting of cool weather and with the help of favorable wind conditions.
In this DNS we will know about the yellow rust.
Earlier this month, the Punjab Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department issued an advisory about Yellow Rust disease in wheat crops. Yellow rust appears as the yellow stripes of powder or dust on leaves and leaf sheaths of the wheat crop. It is a fungal disease that turns leaves yellowish and stops the process of photosynthesis. The fungus attacks the leaf of the crop and eats all the chlorophyll. This in return affects the plants growth. The rust colonies in the leaves drain the carbohydrates from the plant and reduce the green leaf area. A yellow powder comes out on the clothes or fingers when touched.
Yellow rust is currently the most damaging disease of wheat on global level. It can spread quickly under favorable conditions. It affects the crop development and eventually the yield. Rain, dew, fog favor the development of this disease. As per Bayer Crop Science, yield due to the disease can affect by between 5 and 30%.
It can’t be ignored as it can cause severe losses in crop yield if not checked in time. A new variety of wheat called HD-3226 or Pusa Yashasvi was released last year by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute. This new variety of wheat had higher levels of resistance against major rust fungi such as the yellow/stripe, brown/leaf and black/stem. On noticing yellow rust in patches in their wheat fields farmers should spray fungicides. Breeding resistant varieties is the most cost-effective method to control this rust. Fungicides are available but vary in availability depending on their registration restrictions by national or state government.
