Stripe rust has been an important disease of wheat, barley, rye, triticale, and certain grass hosts throughout history— reducing the yield and quality of grain and forage, and lowering seed vigor, germination, and emergence. The disease continues to cause huge yield losses worldwide, and poses a major threat to the sustainable production of cereal crops.
Stripe rust can cause 100% yield losses if infection occurs very early and continues to develop during the growing season. Estimates of yield losses of cereals by rusts are maintained by the USDA-ARS Cereal Disease Laboratory in St. Paul Minnesota.
Stripe rust of wheat is one of the most economically important diseases, and among stripe rusts on grass hosts, wheat stripe rust is the most important worldwide. As an example, the following table lists estimated grain yield losses in the U.S. since 2000. If not for the millions spent on necessary fungicides, yield loss levels could be expected to be two or three times that of observed yield loss levels.
Download the data from the above table from the Winter and Spring Wheat Estimated US Losses 2000-2016 Excel file. Original data belongs to the USDA-ARS Cereal Disease Laboratory in St. Paul Minnesota and has been compiled for ease of use.
Stripe rust of barley is one of the most important diseases of barley in the western United States, and has occurred for many years in Western Europe, the Middle East, south Asia, and east Asia. Barley stripe rust is one of the most important diseases of barley in the western United States, and has occurred for many years in Western Europe, the Middle East, south Asia, and east Asia.
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