J.Mycopathol.Res. 62(2) : 439-442, 2024, ISSN : 0971-3719 (Print), 2583-6315 (Online)© Indian Mycological Society, Department of Botany,
University of Calcutta, Kolkata 700 019, India

10.57023/JMycR.62.2.2024.439

New reports of rust genera from Chhattisgarh, India
HARVINDER KUMAR SINGH* AND PRADEEP KUMAR BADHAI
Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture,
Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, 492012
Received : 09.02.2024

Accepted : 12.05.2024

Published : 24.06.2024

Linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.), in the family Linaceae, is an annual herbaceous plant grown primarily for
fibre (flax) and its seed, which is rich in oil. Rust pustules were observed on L. usitatissimum in March 2023
at Bemetara and Kanker campuses of Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya.The pustules were bright yellow
or orange in color. Uredinospores are stalked, ovate, broadly ellipsoid or obovoid, 15-22.5×13-18 µm in size,
yellowish-orange colored, and mixed with paraphyses. The telia on the stems are irregularly elongated, andform a brown-black solid crust which is spread along the stem. The velvet bean(Mucuna pruriens) belongs
to the Fabaceae family and is an annual and perennial legume. It is considered a viable source of dietary
proteins. In January 2023, chlorotic spots on the upper leaf surface and small, irregular black spots wereobserved on Mucuna pruriens at IGKV, Raipur. Telia are minute black-brown, scattered on the lower surfaceof leaf. Teliospores are globose to subglobose, ovate or ellipsoidal, thick wall, densely verrucose, brownmetallic brown, papillate apex, 16-23.5 × 13-19 µm; pedicels are thick, hyaline, longer than spores. As it was
not previously reported from Chhattisgarh, therefore, this is the new report of Melampsora lini and Uromyces
mucunae from Chhattisgarh, India.
Keywords: Melampsora lini, Paraphyses, Pustules, Telia,Uredinospores, Uromyces mucunae

INTRODUCTION
Among all the fungal groups, rust fungi have highlyspecialized obligate characteristics.Linseed,often known as flax (Linum usitatissimum L.), isa member of the family Linaceae and iscommonly referred to as alsi in India. India isranked fifth in area and production, after theRussian Federation, Kazakhstan, Canada, Chinamainland (FAO Stat., 2021). In India, Madhya
Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Uttar
Pradesh, Odisha, are major linseed producing
States (about 83% area) (Singh,2016). In termsof acreage and productivity, it ranks second torapeseed-mustard as the most significant rabi
(winter) oilseed crop in India (Naik, et al. 2017).
Although linseed plants serve a variety ofpurposes such as manufacturing of paints,
varnishes, soaps and printing inks (Wakjira,2007), the flax type is commercially grown for theextraction of fiber, whereas the linseed is meant*Correspondence : harry.0452@gmail.com

for the extraction of oil from seeds and then used
as a high-protein cattle feed.
Alpha-linolenic acid and linoleic acid (Bloedon andSzapary, 2004), two crucial fatty acids, areabundant in the oil content of linseed, which varies
from 36 to 48 per cent.
Linseed production is affected by various
diseases including Wilt, Powdery mildew, Rust,and Alternaria blight (Saharan and Mehta, 2002).
Melampsora lini (Ehrenb.) Lev. which causes rustdisease in linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) iscurrently placed in the family Melampsoraceae,
in the order Pucciniales, in the class
Pucciniomycetes of the phylum Basidiomycota.
In addition to its economic importance the rustdisease in linseed is interesting from a scientificstandpoint as well. The disease causes severe
losses in seed production as well as a reductionin quality of linen fibre produced from flax plants.
There have been reports of 28% reductions inflax seed yields as a result of the disease in India,
almost as important as black stem rust of wheat.

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New report of rust fungi from Chattisgarh

A serious disease in the northern regions, linseed
rust, caused by M. lini, lead to losses of between
70 and 100% during epidemics (Singh, 2016). The
disease in moderately to highly susceptible
varieties, yields were reduced by 16-100 and 70100 percent, respectively but no loss wasobserved in resistant one. In light infection, oilcontent is not affected, whereas in heavy infection
it is reduced by 10-34% . A heavily infected linseed
variety that was artificially infected withMelampsora lini lost 13.1% of its oil content.
Mucuna pruriens (Velvet bean) is a tropicallegume native to Africa and tropical Asia andwidely naturalized and cultivated. The
genus Mucuna, belongs to the Fabaceae family,
sub family Papilionaceae, includes approximately
150 species of annual and perennial legumes. It
is considered a viable source of dietary proteins(Janardhanan et al. 2003; Pugalenthi et al. 2005)
due to its high protein concentration (23–35%) in
addition its digestibility, which is comparable tothat of other pulses such as soybean, rice bean,and lima bean (Gurumoorthi et al. 2003). Rust ofvelvet bean (Mucuna pruriens) caused byUromyces mucunae is a serious disease in Indiaand is currently placed in Family Pucciniaceae,
Order Pucciniales, Class Pucciniomycetes,
Phylum Basidiomycota.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Infected samples of Velvet bean (Mucunapruriens) and linseed (Linum usitatissimum)
were collected into paper bags and brought tothe laboratory. Photographs were taken with acamera in the field as well as in laboratory. An
examination of the rust sori was performed using
a stereomicroscope and magnifying lenses.Thin
sections through spots were made to examine
the fungus microscopically and digital images
were captured.Free hand sections were taken
along with rust symptoms.The specimen
sections were mounted on glass slide withlactophenol cotton blue stain.Following this,microscopic observations were made by using
LABOVISION made trinocular microscope model
SENSE i4000.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In Linseed rust, initially little pustules are
surrounded by chlorotic patches but later they
become more generalized (Fig. 1a) and the leaves
die prematurely. As the leaves shed early, teleuto-[J.Mycopathol.Res :pustule formation is generally not to be seen onleaves. However, the stem is where they are mostprevalent and noticeable (Fig. 1b). Scatteredbright yellow or orange-coloured pustules areobserved in leaves of infected plants, grown at
Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya Campus,
Bemetara and Kanker (Fig.2a-d). The infected
plants are easily identified from the presence of
these bright yellow or orange coloured pustules(Fig.2e-f) that bear uredia on both surfaces of theleaves as well as on other aerial parts of the plant.
The uredopustules on leaves are round andsmall. The telia on the stems are irregularly
elongate, sub-epidermal and forming brown-blackcolored solid crust which is spread along the stem(Fig.2g-j). Under favourable conditions, the entire
plant is covered by yellow orange pustules.
Uredinospores are stalked, ovate, broadly ellipsoidor obovoid, 15-22.5×13-18 µm in size, yellowishorange-coloured (Fig.3a,b,e,f) and mixed withparaphyses (Fig.3c). Paraphyses are clavate to
somewhat capitate at the apex (Fig.3d).
Teliospore are oblong, smooth, sessile, underepidermis, 28-35 x 15-18 µm in size (Fig.3gh).Symptoms and pathogen description were
found similar to the description given by earlier
workers (Rashid, 2003; Math and Awasthi,2020).Its occurence in India was first time
recorded in 1914. In Northern India’s Indogangetic
Plains in 1961, the disease was epiphytotic.
Jammu and Kashmir, the northern highlands ofHimachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, the nearby
region of Punjab, Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha,and some portions of Uttar Pradesh are now
experiencing a significant rust problem.
In Uromyces mucunae, the first symptoms
observed are chlorotic spots on the upper leaf
surface. The disease begins in the lower part ofthe plant and progress to the upper tissues.The
telia are small, irregularly scattered black to brownspots occurred on mature leaves covering thewhole lower surface (hypophyllous)(Fig. 4a-c).
Teliospores are globose to subglobose, ovate or
ellipsoidal,thick wall, densely verrucose, brown
to metallic-brown, papillate apex, 16-23.5× 13-19µm; pedicels are thick, hyaline, longer thanspores(Fig. 4d-i).On the basis of symptoms andmorphological characteristics of teliospores thepathogen was identified as Uromyces
mucunae.The symptoms and description of the62(2) June, 2024]

Harvinder Kumar Singh and Pradeep Kumar Badhai441

pathogen were found to be similar to thosereported earlier on M. pruriens (L.) DC., and on
M. hirsuta Wight & Arn. caused by U. mucunae
Rabenh. Pawan et al. (2014) reported a newhost for U. mucunae on M.sanjappae.

Fig. 1. a) Linseed leaf with chlorotic area and uredosorus. b)brown colored crusts of Telial pustules on the stem.

Fig.3 : (a, b) - Section of infected leaf bearing yellow-or orange
c oloured s talked uredinospores. (c,d) Clavate to c apitate
paraphyses mixed with uredinospores. (e,f) Uredinospores. (g,h) Section of infected stem showing teliospores. Scale bar- aand c-100µm; b, d, e, f-20µm

Fig. 2: (a-d) Symptoms in the field and laboratory, IGKV, Raipur.
(e-f) Closer view of yellow- or orange coloured uredosorus onthe leaf. (g-h) Brown-black colored solid crust bearing teleutopustule which is spread along the stem. (i-j) Closer view ofbrown colored crusts of teleuto-pustule.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors are grateful to the Head, Departmentof Plant Pathology, Indira Gandhi Krishi
Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur for providing necessary
laboratory facilitiesas to carry out the research.

Fig. 4: a.Chlorotic spots on the upper leaf surface. b. Chlorotic
patches with irregular minute black to brown scattered spots onlower surface of leaf. c. showing symptoms.d-i. Globose tosubglobose, ovate or ellipsoidal, densely verrucose, brown tometallic-brown Telio spores with papillate apex and hyaline
pedicels. g-i. leaf section showing teliospores. Scale bar: d,e,g,hand i- 20µm; f-100µm

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New report of rust fungi from Chattisgarh

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