Abstract
Barberry (Berberis spp.) is an alternate host for both the stripe rust pathogen, Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst), and the stem rust pathogen, P. graminis f. sp. tritici (Pgt), infecting wheat. Infection risk was assessed to determine whether barberry could be infected by either of the pathogens in Asia and Southeastern Europe, known for recurring epidemics on wheat and the presence of barberry habitats. For assessing infection risk, mechanistic infection models were used to calculate infection indices for both pathogens on barberry following a modeling framework. In East Asia, Bhutan, China, and Nepal were found to have low risks of barberry infection by Pst but high risks by Pgt. In Central Asia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, southern Russia, and Uzbekistan were identified to have low to high risks of barberry infection for both Pst and Pgt. In Northwest Asia, risk levels of both pathogens in Turkey and the Republic of Georgia were determined to be high to very high. In Southwest Asia, no or low risk was found. In Southeastern Europe, similar high or very high risks for both pathogens were noted for all countries. The potential risks of barberry infection by Pst and/or Pgt should provide guidelines for monitoring barberry infections and could be valuable for developing rust management programs in these regions. The framework used in this study may be useful to predict rust infection risk in other regions.
Highlights
In Central Asia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, southern Russia, and Uzbekistan were identified to have low to high risks of barberry infection for both Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst) and P. graminis f. sp. tritici (Pgt)
In Southeastern Europe, similar high or very high risks for both pathogens were noted for all countries
The majority locations in East Asia (EA) and Central Asia (CA) had relatively low monthly infection index (MINF) values compared with locations in Northwest Asia (NWA) and bordering Southeast European countries (SEC) (Figure 1a)
Summary
Stripe rust and stem rust, caused by Puccinia striiformis f. Tritici (Pgt), respectively, are among the most important diseases of wheat worldwide, and they pose major threats to global wheat production [1,2,3]. Destructive epidemics can occur over vast areas within few weeks if susceptible cultivars are widely grown and weather conditions are favorable to rust [4,5,6,7]. Stripe rust has recently emerged as one of the most destructive diseases [2,8,9]. In the last 15 years, the disease has become one of the largest biotic limitations to wheat production and threatens global food supply
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