Unit-1

Diseases of cereal crops

Diseases of Wheat
 Diseases of wheat
Fungal diseases
1. Yellow rust: Puccinia striiformis
2. Brown rust: Puccinia recondita
3. Black rust: Puccinia graminis tritici
4. Loose smut: Ustilago nuda tritici
5. Common bunt: Tilletia tritici and Tilletia laevis
6. Karnal bunt: Tilletia indica
7. Powdery mildew: Erysiphe graminis
8. Flag smut: Urocystis tritici
9. Foot rot: Pythium graminicolum
10. Leaf blight: Alternaria triticina
Bacterial disease
1. Bacterial leaf streak and black chaff:
Xanthomonas campestris pv. undulosum
Viral disease
1. Barley yellow dwarf: Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus
(BYDV)
2. Barley yellow streak mosaic: Barley Yellow Streak
Mosaic Virus (BYSMV)
3. Barley yellow striate mosaic: Barley Yellow Striate
Mosaic Virus (BYSMV)
 1. Yellow rust or Stripe rust
Causal organism: Puccinia striiformis
It is heteroecious rust but
the alternate host is still unknown.
Symptoms
• The pustules contain yellow to orange-yellow
urediospores, usually form narrow stripes on the
leaves.
• The teliospores are also arranged in long stripes and
are dull black in colour.
• Pustules also can be found on leaf sheaths, necks, and
glumes.
Symptoms
Pathogen
• Uredospores are yellow,
spherical to oval,
measuring 23-35 × 20-35
µ, with a hyaline,
minutely echinulate
spore wall with 6-16 Uredospores
germ pores.
• Teleutospores are dark
brown, two celled, thick
walled flattened at the
top and measure 35-63 ×
12-30 µ.

Teleutospores (Teliospores)
Life Cycle
Survival and spread
• The inoculum survives in the form of uredospores
/teliospores in the northern hills during off season
on self sown crop or volunteer hosts.
• Spread occur through uredospores from hills.

Favourable conditions
• Temperature (10-20°C)
• High humidity (>80%)
 2. Leaf or Brown or Orange Rust
Causal organism: Puccinia recondita

It is heteroecious rust and

the alternate host is Meadow-rue (Thalictrum sp.)

Symptoms
• The pustules are circular or slightly elliptical,
smaller than those of stem rust, usually do not
coalesce, and contain masses of orange to orange-
brown Urediospores.
• Mainly found on the upper surfaces of leaves and
leaf sheaths and occasionally on the neck and awns.
Symptoms
Pathogen
• Uredospores are brown,
spherical, minutely
echinulate, measuring
20-35 µ in diameter and
bearing 7-10 germ
pores. Uredospores

• Teleutospores are two

celled, smooth, oblong,
thick walled and brown
with a rounded apex and
measure 35-56 × 12-23 µ.
Teleutospores (Teliospores)
Life Cycle
Survival and spread
• The inoculum survives in the form of uredospores
/teliospores in the northern hills during off season
on self sown crop (stubbles) or volunteer hosts.
• Spread occur through uredospores from hills.

Favourable conditions
• Temperature (20-25°C) with free moisture (rain or
dew).
 1. Tundu Disease or Yellow ear rot
Causal organism(s): Corynebacterium tritici
(Clavibacter tritici) and Anguina tritici

2. Ear cockle Disease

Causal organism(s): Anguina tritici

3. Molya Disease
Causal organism(s): Heterodera avenae
 3. Stem or Black Rust
Causal organism: Puccinia graminis tritici
It is heteroecious rust and
the alternate host is Barberry (Berberis sp.)

Symptoms
• Pustules are dark reddish brown in colour, occur
on both sides of the leaves, on the stems and on the
spikes.
• Pustules are usually separate and scattered, and in
heavy infections they coalesce.
• Prior to pustule formation, "flecks" may appear.
Symptoms
• Before the spore masses break through the epidermis,
the infection sites feel rough to the touch and gives a
ragged and torn appearance.

Pathogen
• Uredospores are brown, oval shaped, thick
walled, borne singly on stalks, measure 25-35 ×
17-20 µ and bearing 4 germ pores.

• Teleutospores are dark or chestnut brown, two

celled, smooth and thick walled with a rounded
apex and measure about 40-46 × 15-20 µ.
 Pathogen

Uredospores

Teleutospores (Teliospores)
Life Cycle
Survival and spread
• The inoculum survives in the form of uredospores
/teliospores in the northern hills during off season
on self sown crop (stubbles) or volunteer hosts.
• Spread occur through uredospores from hills.

Favourable conditions
• Temperature (20°C)
• Moisture (>70-80%).
 Management
• Mixed cropping and crop rotation.
• Avoid excess dose of Nitrogen.
• Sulphur dusting @ 35-40 kg/ha
• Spray Mancozeb @ 2g/lit or Zineb @2.5 kg/ha or
Propiconazole @ 0.1 %.
• Grow resistant varieties like PBW 343, PBW 550,
PBW 17, Lerma Rojo, Safed Lerma, Sonalika and
Chotil.
• Spray of 1 litre butter milk + 1 litre cow urine along
with 8 litres of water.
 4. Loose Smut
Causal organism: Ustilago nuda tritici
This is internally seed borne disease.
Symptoms
• The entire inflorescence is commonly affected,
except rachis, and appears as a mass of olive-black
spores, initially covered by a thin grey membrane.
• Once the membrane ruptures, the head appears
powdery.
• The powdery mass of spores is blown off by wind,
leaving behind only the central rachis.
Symptoms
Pathogen
• The smut spores are very minute, pale,
olive-brown, spherical to oval in shape,
measure about 5-9 µ in diameter and are
adorned with minute echinulations on the
wall.

• They germinate readily in water, each spore

p r o d u c i n g 1 f o u r- c e l l e d g e r m t u b e
(promycelium).
Life Cycle
Survival and spread
• The disease is internally seed borne, where
pathogen infects the embryo in the seed.
• Primary infection occurs by sowing infected
seeds.

Favourable conditions
• Infection is favoured by cool and humid
conditions during flowering period of the host
plant.
 Management
• Solar heat treatment or hot water treatment of seed.
• Rogue out diseased ear heads and destroy them by
burning.
• Grow resistant varieties like Raj 2296, K-8027, K-
8251, HW-657, HW-240, Raj-6276, VL-646, VL-719
etc.
• Treat the seed with Vitavax @ 2g/kg seed before
sowing.
 5. Common Bunt or Hill Bunt or Stinking Smut
Causal organism: Tilletia tritici (syn. T. caries)
and Tilletia laevis (syn. T. foetida)
This is externally seed borne disease.
Symptoms
• The fungus attacks seedling of 8-10 days old and become
systemic and grows along the tip of shoot.
• At the time of flowering, hyphae concentrate in the
inflorescence and spikelets and transforming the ovary
into smut sorus of dark green colour.
• The diseased plants mature earlier and all the spikelets
are affected.
Symptoms
Pathogen
• Reticulate, globose and rough walled.
• No resting period.
• Germinate to produce primary sporidia.
Life Cycle
Survival and spread
• The spores on the seed surface germinate along with
the seed.
• Each produces a short fungal thread terminating in a
cluster of elongated cells.
• These then produce secondary spores which infect the
coleoptiles of the young seedlings before the
emergence of the first true leaves.

Favourable conditions
• Temperature of 18-20˚C.
• High soil moisture.
 Management
• Adopt shallow sowing.
• Grow the crop during high temperature period.
• Treat the seeds with carboxin or carbendazim at
2g/kg.
• Grow resistant varieties like Kalyan Sona, S227,
PV18, HD2021, HD4513 and HD4519.
 6. Karnal Bunt
Causal organism: Tilletia indica
(syn. Neovossia indica)
This disease was first reported from Karnal (Haryana).
Symptoms
• In an infected plant, not all the ears are affected and in an
infected ear, only a few grain (5-6) are being infected and
changed into sori.
• The sori are always irregularly distributed on the
infected ear.
• On the maturity of the grains, the outer glumes in a
spike spread out and the bunted grains may be observed.
Symptoms
Survival and spread

• The disease is seed borne and sowing of

infected seeds is the source of primary infection.

Favourable conditions

• Temperature of 18-20˚C.
• High soil moisture.
 7. Powdery Mildew
Causal organism: Erysiphe graminis

Symptoms
• G re y i sh w hi t e po w d e r y
growth appears on the leaf,
she a t h, st e m a nd f l o r a l
parts.

• Powdery growth later

become black lesion and
cause drying of leaves and
other parts.
Symptoms
Pathogen
• Fungus produces septate, superficial,
hyaline mycelium on leaf surface with
short conidiophores.
• The conidia are elliptical, hyaline, single
celled, thin walled and produced in chains.
• Dark globose cleistothecia containing 9-30
asci develop with oblong, hyaline and thin
walled ascospores.
Disease Cycle
Survival and spread

• Fungus remains in infected plant debris as dormant

mycelium and asci.
• Primary spread is by the ascospores and secondary
spread through airborne conidia.

Favourable conditions

• Cool and moderate temperature (20-21˚C).

• High humidity (>70%).
 Management
• Crop rotation
• Removal of plant debris.
• Avoid excess dose of Nitrogen.
• Use of resistant varieties.
• Spray wettable sulphur 0.2% or carbendazim
@ 500 g/ha.
 8. Flag Smut
Causal organism: Urocystis tritici or U. agropyri
Symptoms
• The symptoms can be seen on stem, clum and leaves
from late seedling stage to maturity.
• The seedling infection leads to twisting and drooping
of leaves followed by withering.
• Grey to grayish black sori occurs on leaf blade and
sheath.
• The sorus contains black powdery mass of spores.
Symptoms
Disease Cycle
Survival and spread

• The disease is seed and soil borne.

• Smut spores are viable for more than 10 years.
• Primary infection occurs by sowing infected seeds
or by resting spores present in the soil.

Favourable conditions

• Temperature of 18-24°C.
• Relative humidity (65% and above).
 Management
• Crop rotation
• Removal of plant debris.
• Seed treatment with carboxin at 2g /kg.
• Grow resistant varieties like Pusa 44 and WG
377.
 10. Leaf Blight
Causal organism: Alternaria triticina, A. alternata
and Bipolaris sorokiniana

Symptoms
• Reddish brown oval spots
appear on young seedlings
with bright yellow margin.
• In severe condition,
several spots coalesce to
cause drying of leaves.
Survival and spread
• Primary spread is by externally seed-borne and soil
borne conidia.
• Secondary spread by air-borne conidia.

Favourable conditions
• Temperature of 25°C.
• Relative humidity (>70%).

Management
• Seed treatment with carboxin or carbendazim @2 g
/kg.
• Spray with Mancozeb or Zineb @2 kg/ha.
 11. Bacterial leaf streak and black chaff
Causal organism: Xanthomonas campestris pv. undulosum
or
Xanthomonas translucens pv. undulosa
Symptoms
• Initially, small and linear water soaked area may develop
on the leaf blades and sheath.
• Later, lesions elongate and coalesce into irregular, narrow
yellowish and brownish stripes.
• Spikes are blighted and turn black.
• Cream to yellow coloured slime or droplets appear on
the leaves.
Pathogen
• Xanthomonas is a genus of Proteobacteria and is a
Gram negative.
• It is motile by a single polar flagellum and it can
grow in temperature range from 4ºC to 37ºC.

Survival and spread

• The bacterium survives in and on seeds and may also
persist on crop residue and in soil.
• It can be transmitted by splashing water, plant to
plant contact and insects.
• Volunteer and grassy weeds also are sources of
inoculums.
Favourable conditions
• Wet weather, irrigation water and rainfall.
• Temperature of 25-30ºC.

Management
• Crop rotation.
• Bury infected plant parts.
• Removal of volunteer and grassy weeds.
• Avoid overirrigation.
• Use of disease free seed.
• Use of resistant cultivars like Blade, Cromwell, Faller,
Howard, Knudson etc.
 12. Barley yellow dwarf
Causal organism: Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYDV)

Symptoms
• The most common symptom is stunting due to reduced
internode length and root mass of infected plants is also
often reduced.
• The most conspicuous symptom is loss of green colour in
leaves, mostly found on older leaves and later water-
soaked areas are found on the leaves.
• Leaves typically turn yellow or red or purple in colour.
 Management
• Late sowing.
• Removal of volunteer plants and grassy weeds.
• Use of disease free seed.
• Use of resistant varieties.
• Use of Imidacloprid or Thiamethoxam.
Diseases of Sugarcane
(Saccharum officinarum)
 Diseases of Sugarcane
Fungal diseases
1. Red rot: Colletotrichum falcatum
2. Whip smut: Ustilago scitaminea
3. Sett Rot/ Pineapple disease: Ceratocystis paradoxa
4. Pokkah Boeng: Fusarium moniliformae
Bacterial disease
1. Ratoon stunting: Clavibacter xyli
2. Red stripe/Top rot: Pseudomonas rubrilineans
3. Gummosis: Xanthomonas compestris pv. vasculorum
4. Leaf scald: Xanthomonas albileneans
Viral disease
1. Sugarcane Mosaic: Sugarcane Mosaic Potyvirus
Grassy shoot: Phytoplasma
 1. Red rot
Causal organism: Colletotrichum falcatum
Perfect stage: Glomerella tucumanensis
Symptoms
• Typical symptoms of red rot are observed in the
internodes of a stalk by splitting it longitudinally.
• The presence of cross-wise white patches are the
important diagnostic character of the disease.
• The diseased cane also emits acidic-sour smell. As the
disease advances, the stalk becomes hollow and
covered with white mycelial growth.
• The pathogen also produces tiny reddish lesions on the
upper surface of leaves with dark dots in the centre.
• Red rot of sugarcane was first reported from?
A. Java in 1893
B. Srilanka 1687
C. India 1814
D. Non
 Pathogen
• The pathogen produces specialized structures known as
acervuli, which support profuse sporulation.
• Conidiophores are closely packed inside the acervulus,
which are short, hyaline and single celled.
• Spores (conidia) are hyaline (clear), oblong, single-celled
and produced in a slimy matrix.
• Fungus also produces large number of globose and dark
brown to black perithecia with a papillate ostiole.
Survival and Spread
• They rely heavily on water, particularly rainfall,
for dissemination.
• The fungus is sett-borne and also persists in the soil
on the diseased clumps and stubbles.

Favourable Conditions
• Successive ratoon cropping.
• Water logged conditions and injuries caused by
insects.
 Management
• Use disease free setts.
• Hot water treatment at 52˚C for 10 mins.
• Use of resistant varieties viz., Co 86032, Co 86249,
CoSi 95071, CoG 93076, CoC 22, CoSi 6 and CoG 5.
• Cut ends and setts should be dipped in 1% Bordeaux
mixture.
• Use fungitoxic chemicals like Bavistan, Benomyl,
Topsin and Aretan @0.1% for 18 min. at 52ºC for
dipping setts.
 2. Whip smut
Causal organism: Ustilago scitaminea
(Syn. Sporisorium scitamineum)

Symptoms
• Affected plants are stunted and the central shoot is
replaced by a long whip like, dusty black structure,
several feet in length.

• In early stages this structure is covered by a thin

silvery white film, which rupture exposing the mass of
dense, black dust.
 Pathogen
• The fungal mycelium spores are echinulate, light
brown and spherical, measuring 6.5 – 8.5 µ in diameter.
• They germinate readily in water, producing 2-3 celled
promycelia.
• Sporidia arise terminally or laterally and are hyaline,
thin walled, single celled and elliptical to linear.
 Disease cycle
• Teliospores may survive in the soil for long periods, upto
10 years.
• The smut spores and dormant mycelium also present in
or on the infected setts.
• The primary spread of the disease is through diseased
seed-pieces (setts) and also present in soil, which cause
soil-borne infection.
• The secondary spread in the field is mainly through the
smut spores developed in the whips, aided by air currents.
 Management
•Use disease free setts.
•Avoid ratoon cropping.
•Diseased clumps and setts must be uprooted.
 3. Ratoon stunting
Causal organism: Clavibacter xyli
(Syn. Leifsonia xyli)

Symptoms
• The affected plants are stunted, the stunting being most
severe in stubble and ratoon crops.

• In infected stocks, the presence of pin head like

orange coloured dots of bacteria on the internal soft
tissue in the nodal region.

• The setts taken from diseased plants germinate poorly

and the few shoots that are emerged grow very slowly.
 Etiology
• Colonies on semi-solid media are circular with entire
margins, convex and non-pigmented.
• They are small, thin and rod shaped.
• Non-motile.
• Gram-positive.
 Management
• Planting of healthy and disease free seed cane.
• Growing resistant varieties.
• Hot water treatment of the seed cane @51°C
for 2-3 hours.
• Chemical disinfectants that may be used on
cane cutting knives includes, Lysol, Dettol,
ethanol, Mirrol and Roccal.
 4. Grassy shoot
Causal organism: Phytoplasma (MLO)
Symptoms
• Initial symptom appears in the young crop of 3-4
months age as thin papery white young leaves at the
top of the cane.

• Later, white or yellow tillers appear in large number

below these leaves (profuse tillering).

• The cane becomes stunted with reduced internodal

length with axillary bud sprouting.

• Cane formation rarely occurs.

 Etiology
• Two types of bodies are seen in ultrathin sections of
phloem cells of infected plants.
• The spherical bodies of 300-400 nm diameter
and filamentous bodies of 30-53 nm diameter.

Disease cycle
• The primary spread of the phytoplasma is through
diseased setts and cutting knifes.
• The pathogen is transmitted secondarily by
aphids viz., Rhopalosiphum maydis, Melanaphis
sacchari and M. idiosacchari.
• Sorghum and maize serves as natural collateral hosts.
 Management
• Eradication of diseased parts as soon as symptoms
are seen.
• Avoid selection of setts from diseased area.
• Pre-treating the healthy setts with hot water @52°C
for 1 hour before planting
• Treating them with hot air @54°C for 8 hours.
• Spraying the crop twice a month with insecticides.
• Application of tetracyclin.
 5. Pokkah boeng
Causal organism: Fusarium moniliforme or
F. andiyazi or F. sachhari or F. subglutinans
First reported from Java in 1896.
Symptoms
The general symptoms of Pokkah boeng are mainly of
three types:

1. Chlorotic Phase: The earliest symptom is a chlorotic

condition towards the base of the young leaves and
occasionally on the other parts of the leaf blades.
Frequently, a pronounced wrinkling, twisting and
shortening of the leaves accompanied the malformation
or distortion of the young leaves.
2. Acute Phase or Top-Rot Phase: The most advanced
and serious stage is a top rot phase.
• The young spindles are killed and the entire top dies.
• Leaf infection sometimes continued to downward and
penetrates in the stalk.
• Later, the entire base of the spindle and even growing
point showed a malformation of leaves, pronounced
wrinkling, twisting and rotting of spindle leaves.
• Red specks and stripes also developed.

3. Knife-cut Phase: It is characterized by one or two or

even more transverse cuts in the rind of the stalk /stem
in such a uniform manner as if, the tissues are removed
with a sharp knife.
Chlorotic Phase
Top Rot Phase
Knife-cut Phase
Etiology
Disease cycle
Favourable conditions

Management
• Removal of plant debris.
• Use of resistant varieties.
• Spraying of different fungicides like Bavistin (0.1%)
or Blitox (0.2%) or Copper oxychloride or Dithane
M-45 (0.3%).