wheat rust

American  

noun

Plant Pathology.

1. any of several diseases of wheat caused by rust fungi of the genus Puccinia.

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wheat rust British  

noun

1. a rust fungus, Puccinia graminis, that attacks cereals, esp wheat, and the barberry

2. the disease caused by this fungus

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Etymology

Origin of wheat rust

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

wheat rust

The most effective method of controlling wheat rust is by breeding resistant wheat cultivars, but new strains of the fungus pose a continuing threat.

From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2021

A number of parasitic fungi cause diseases such as corn smut and wheat rust that threaten food crops.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2018

Look, I got a new spray for the wheat rust.

From Nature ● Oct. 18, 2016

And now it exacerbates the proliferation of wheat rust, known as the “polio of agriculture,” which is threatening 90 percent of African wheat.

From Slate ● Jan. 11, 2016

In this sense, wheat rust is not a disease: it is a symptom which betrays the presence of a disease-inducing fungus, the Rust fungus.

From Disease in Plants by Ward, H. Marshall