Rust is a collective name for a group of fungal diseases whose pathogens belong to the order Pucciniales. Outwardly, the disease manifests as the formation of pustules on leaves, stems, and other parts of plants—cushions of orange, brown, or black color containing pathogen spores.
Active development of the disease depends on weather conditions, primarily high humidity in the form of dew, fog, or precipitation, and specific temperature ranges unique to each rust species. Additional risk factors include crop density, the presence of plant residues, and the proximity of alternate hosts necessary for the development of certain fungal species.
The evaluation of cultivar resistance in variety trials is carried out under natural or artificial infectious backgrounds during the milk stage by recording the percentage of infection on the flag leaf surface. Based on the data obtained, accessions are classified as immune, resistant, or susceptible, and molecular analysis methods are used to identify resistance genes, such as Lr34.