Dr. Phyto

rye

Secale cereale

Diseases & pests on this plant

• bird cherry-oat aphid (BYDV vector)Rhopalosiphum padi

  Small (1-2mm) olive-green aphids on leaf undersides + stem bases, sticky honeydew on lower leaves, yellow-orange leaf tip discoloration from BYDV transmission (the diagnostic + most damaging symptom), stunted yellow patches in autumn-sown crops, 30-80% yield loss in BYDV epidemic years.

• brown rust of wheat + ryePuccinia recondita

  Small orange-brown round pustules scattered on upper leaf surfaces (smaller + more random than yellow rust stripes), severe infection causes premature leaf senescence, reduced photosynthesis lowers thousand-grain weight, late-season teliospores form black pustules on dying leaves.

• ergot of rye + cerealsClaviceps purpurea

  Hard purple-black curved sclerotia (5-30mm long) replacing kernels in cereal heads (very distinctive — looks like a black banana stuck in the head), honeydew (sticky yellow exudate) on flowering heads during infection phase, sclerotia drop to ground at harvest + survive winter, contaminated grain dangerous for human + animal consumption.