Diseases

Rust of Italian ryegrass

Lolium multiflorum Lam.

A fungal disease of Italian ryegrass caused by Puccinia coronata f. sp. lolii and Puccinia graminis ssp. graminicola species, reducing the yield and nutritional value of the sward.

In the reference 109 varieties crop Italian ryegrass, where this is mentioned in the description.

The causal agent of crown rust is the specialized fungus form Puccinia coronata f. sp. lolii, while stem rust is caused by the pathogen Puccinia graminis ssp. graminicola. The infection manifests as the formation of rusty or yellow-orange pustules on leaf blades, which leads to premature leaf senescence and reduced productivity.

The disease negatively affects the biochemical composition of the plant, causing a drop in water-soluble carbohydrate content and a decrease in forage digestibility. Given the physiological variability of pathogen populations, the focus in ryegrass breeding has shifted from searching for monogenic resistance to using QTLs and molecular markers localized in linkage groups LG 1 and LG 2.

General information about the subject — on the page Rust.

Sources8

Varieties of Italian ryegrass mentioned in the description

Selection based on the description text, not on official evaluation: these data are absent from registers. For specific variety details, please refer to its profile.