Crown Rust

Puccinia coronata

Puccinia coronata is a plant pathogen and causal agent of oat and barley crown rust. The pathogen occurs worldwide, infecting both wild and cultivated oats. It is a relatively new disease of barley in North America. It was first found in 1992 in a barley breeding nursery near Clay Center, Nebraska. Since then, crown rust has been found throughout the upper Midwest,