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Glite Dictionary
Puccinia

Puccinia

1 9.9
A group of fungi that live on plants and cause rust on crops
  • noun
  • /pʌˈsɪniə/
  • Specialized
: Puccinia
  • Stem rust, caused by the fungus Puccinia graminis sp. tritici, has historically been one of the most destructive plant diseases.
  • rust Puccinia
  • Puccinia fungus

Examples

  • Every year, CDL also conducts a national virulence survey of the leaf rust pathogen Puccinia triticina.

    Academic text (2006)

  • The fungus Puccinia is responsible for severe losses in wheat crops worldwide.

  • Agronomists study Puccinia species to develop resistant plant varieties.

  • Identifying Puccinia infections early can help mitigate crop damage.

Surface Forms

Puccinia singular
Puccinias plural

Etymology

Puccinia comes from the Italian surname Puccini, the name given to this group of rust fungi. So, think of Puccinia as the 'Puccini' family of tiny parasites that cause 'rust' on crops, which explains why the word is used for fungi that damage plants.