Cedar Apple Rust

• It is prevalent wherever the alternate host,

eastern red cedar(Juniperus virginiana),
occur. On susceptible cultivars it can
cause serious loss of crop and reduction in
fruit grade, as well as almost total
defoliation.
• Symptom:
• Cedar apple rust appears first as small,
yellow-orange lesions on the upper
surface of leaves, on petioles, and on
young fruit.
• Lesions enlarge rapidly on susceptible
cultivars, but their growth is restricted on
partially resistant cultivars.
• They may be bordered by a red band or a
chlorotic hallo.
• Small, orange-brown pustules(pycnia),
less than 1mm in diameter, develop within
the lesions and produce watery orange
drops.
• After several weeks, yellow-brown lesions
(1-15mm in diameter) develop on the
undersurface of leaves.
• These under- leaf lesions produce small,
dark, tubular structures (aecia), which
easily fracture to release red-brown
spores.
• Similar lesions may also occur on fruit.
• Fruit lesions are superficial and cause light
brown necrosis only 1-5 mm into the flesh.
• The brown pycnia often develop in fruit.
• Causal Organism:
• Gymnosporangium juniperi-virginianae.
The cause of cedar apple rust, is in the
class Basidiomycetes, order Uredinales,
and family Pucciniaceae.
• On J. virginiana, the fungus induces
greenish brown, smooth-surfaced,
spherical galls(5-50mm in diameter),which
nomally produce teliospores during 1 year.
• Disease Cycle and Epidemiology:
• Galls (cedar apple) induced by G. juniperi-
virginianae on red cedar exude horn-like
telia during spring rains.
• During rains the telia become swollen and
jellylike , afterwards drying back to dark
brown threads. Swelling and drying of the
telia may occur 8-10 times during the
spring.
• The telia contain two-celled teliospores,
some of which are extruded during each
rain-induced swelling, until the supply is
exhausted
• During a rain, teliospores germinate to
produce basidiospores within 4 hr at
optimum tempratures(11-25 C) and within
5-7 hr at 7-11 C.
• Basidiospores are forcibly discharged into
the air immediately after formation and can
be carried more than one Km on air
currents.
• Those that land on young apple tissue
may germinate and infect the host if a film
of water is present for sufficiently long
period.
• Apple leaves 4-8 days old are the most
susceptible to infection by basidiospores,
and fruit are susceptible from the tight-
cluster stage until just after petal fall..
• One to two week after infection, orange-
brown pycnia containing pycniospores
appear on the upper side of leaves or on
fruit.
• One to two months after the appearance
of pycnia, probably after the fussion of
cytoplasms of different mating types, aecia
appear on the lower surface of leaves or
on fruit.
• The aecia produce aeciospores, which are
released during dry weather in late
summer.
• Those that land on young twigs of cedar
may germinate and infect them.
• Eventually during the second year after
infection, mature galls are formed, thus
completing the disease cycle.
• Infections of cedar are required each year
for infection of apple trees.
• Control:
• Cedar apple rust controlled by fungicides,
such as dithiocarbamates and ergosterol
biosynthesis inhibators.
• Infection pressure can be reduced by
removing nearby red cedar trees, but it is
difficult to eliminate infection sources
completely, since the basidiospores can
be carried long distances on air currents.
• Cultivars differ greatly in susceptibility to
pathogen.
• Resistant cultivars, such as Delicious,
Liberty, Mclntosh, Priscilla, and Tydemans
can always be grown without chemical
sprays.