Incidence of yellow stripe rust in wheat growing areas of Lahore

A survey of different wheat growing areas in and around Lahore, Pakistan was conducted to study the incidence of yellow stripe rust on wheat crop during 2013. The areas surveyed for this purpose included Bedian Rroad, Barki Hadiara Road, Mamala Laluwali, Padana, G.T Road Awan Dhaianwala, Jandiala Ganjay Sindhwa and Marl Mari. Samples were collected from highly infected fields during survey. Sehar, Faisalabad-2008, Inquilab-91 and Millat varieties of wheat were inspected, and it was observed that the incidence of rust was variable on each variety. The disease appeared on all varieties and its percentage incidence was recorded as 65%, 55%, 40% and 25% on Sehar, Faisalabad-2008, Inquilab-91, and Millat, respectively. During the field visits pustules of citron yellow colour were observed on the leaf surfaces as long stripes and were hardly found on shoot and heads. As the crop reached maturity, yellow spores were formed in the stripes and cover whole epidermis of the leaf. Morphological characteristics under microscope showed the presence of urediospores and teliospores.