ABSTRACT
Stem rust is one of the most shattering diseases of wheat, caused by the fungus Puccinia graminis Pers. f. sp. tritici Eriks. and E. Henn. The pathogen converts a healthy-looking plant to a mesh of black stems and few shriveled grains, just a few weeks prior to the harvesting. Stem rust can cause severe yield losses in susceptible cultivars of wheat in environments favorable for disease development. Higher temperature induced by the climate change is answerable for the evolution of several new plant pathogenic races which are expected to reduce wheat production in developing countries by 29%. One of the finest approaches to avoid catastrophe caused by Ug99 is to identify and deploy wheat rust-resistant genotypes that are suitable for Ug99-prone regions. Ug99, pathotypes have not been confirmed from India and Pakistan. About only 25% of the total wheat-growing area in India are prone to stem rust.
