Coffee Leaf Rust: Epidemiology, Screening and Management

Coffee is considered as one of the most important non-alcoholic beverage and is an important agricultural commodity traded next to petroleum products in the world market. Among the two commercial species of coffee, arabica is highly susceptible to many diseases compared to robusta coffee. The major diseases of coffee are leaf rust, black rot, anthracnose, root diseases and nursery diseases which causes economic damage and quality of coffee. Coffee leaf rust or leaf rust or orange rust of coffee caused by the fungus Hemileia vastatrix B. & Br. is an obligate parasite and is a major disease of arabica coffee. Hence, effective management of this disease is of paramount importance in the profitable cultivation of arabica coffee. This book deals with the epidemiology, screening of coffee genotypes for resistance and management of leaf rust to develop suitable, economic and viable disease management practices.