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Story: Arable farming

Wheat stripe rust

Wheat stripe rust

Wheat stripe rust is one of several diseases that affect only wheat. It is caused by a fungus and is a problem in cool climates. Stripe rust appears as yellow powdery pustules in stripes parallel to the veins in the leaf. Outside the wheat-growing season, wheat stripe rust survives on plants such as barley grass and later blows onto growing wheat crops, infecting the young seedlings. Control measures include sowing resistant varieties and using fungicides.

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How to cite this page

Sue Zydenbos, Arable farming – Diseases and pests, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/17592/wheat-stripe-rust (accessed 23 June 2026).

Story by Sue Zydenbos, published 1 March 2009.

Comments

Cathy de Villiers
19 December 2021
Hi, just a note. In Story: Arable farming Contents refers: The picture of wheat stripe rust is not correct. It is in fact stem rust or black rust. Wheat stripe rust occurs mainly on the leaves in a linear pattern and is yellow in color. As the case with stem rust it is brown in color and will change to a black color at the end of the wheat season.