Rusts

At least two rusts have been reported on tobacco. One of them Puccinia substriata Ellis & Barthol. (1897) (common name Puccinia substriata Ellis & Barthol., (1897) var. Substriata) occurs primarily in Honduras. It causes circular foliar lesions with many concentric ecidiosores of creamy to orange colour. The other rust disease, Uredo nicotianae Anastasia, Sacc. & Splend. (1904) is more widely spread. It has been reported in Brazil, Central America, Zimbabwe and Italy. It is also characterised by the presence of brown, prominent sori clustered on the leaves (figure 1). Both rusts, caused by fungi are classified as basidiomycetes, have not been reported in France, not even Uredo nicotianae which has however been observed in Italy.

In France, the name ‘rust’ is frequently improperly used to designate brown spots, often of physiological nature. For more information, you should consult the section relating to pollution or physiological spots.