leaf rust

American  

noun

Plant Pathology.

1. a disease, especially of cereals and other grasses, characterized by rust-colored pustules of spores on the affected leaf blades and sheaths and caused by any of several rust fungi.

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Etymology

Origin of leaf rust

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

Its low genetic diversity means it could be completely decimated, like the monoculture Cavendish banana, by pathogens, such as coffee leaf rust, which causes $1-2 billion in losses annually.

From Science Daily • Apr. 15, 2024

The researchers explored the makeup of one arabica variety that is resistant to coffee leaf rust, highlighting sections of its genetic code that could help protect the plant.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 15, 2024

Beyond alleged counterfeiters, his nemeses are rats, invasive plants, twig- and berry-boring beetles and coffee leaf rust, a predatory fungus from 19th century Africa that reached the Big Island last fall.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 17, 2021

He wants to replant hundreds of trees in a fallow area where leaf rust - a fungus that damages flowering - forced him to uproot coffee plants a few years ago.

From Reuters • May 22, 2019

Gaitan and his colleagues released a second generation rust-resistant strain called Castillo in 2005 that has been slow to catch on — farmers would rather rely on fungicides to ward off the leaf rust.

From Salon • May 13, 2013