Black rust in Scotland

Abstract

Conclusions and Summary Black Rust occurs in Scotland in scattered areas and only in the immediate vicinity of affected barberries is the infection on cereals and grasses heavy. There is no evidence that the disease is carried over the winter by means of uredospores and destruction of barberries will almost certainly result in the disappearance of the disease. Observations in the field show that the following five forms of Puccinia graminis are present in Scotland: sp. f. Tritici Secalis, Avenae, Agrostidis, Phlei-pratensis. Infection experiments with sp. f. Secalis, Avenae and Agrostidis indicate that these forms have the same powers of infection as have already been described in England and North America. The authors wish to express their indebtedness to Dr Malcolm Wilson, Mrs N. L. Alcock, and Messrs J. S. L. Waldie and J. Fraser for assistance in obtaining material and for information about rusted crops and grasses; also to Mr Harrow, Curator of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, for the provision of barberry plants and of ground for out-of-door experiments.