Wheat Stem Rust (Puccinia graminis)

Wheat Stem Rust, also called stem rust, cereal rust, black rust or red rust, is caused by the fungus Puccinia graminis and causes significant disease in cereal crops including bread wheat, durum wheat, barley and triticale. It has affected cereal farming throughout history; the annual recurrence of stem rust of wheat in North Indian plains was discovered by K. C. Mehta, and since the 1950s wheat strains bred for resistance have become available alongside effective fungicides.