TECHNICAL DOCUMENT ON RUST OF Mentha Spp.

Mint plants (Mentha spp.) which belong to the family: Lamiaceae is one of the common vegetable crops which planted in different countries around the world. It's an important food source in addition to its medicinal and industrial uses. It was infected by many fungal diseases including rust disease which caused by the obligate parasite fungus Puccinia menthae which belongs to the class Pucciniomycetes and the phylum Basidiomycota. Mint rust disease symptoms were easily observed on the mint leaves represented by appearing small dusty bright orange, yellow or brown pustules and the leaves may die and drop from the infected plant. This disease is often a serious yield-reducing problem. Mint rust disease can be controlled by applying many agricultural methods and breaking the life cycle of the pathogen and by using different fungicides and resistant varieties. All methods achieved a significant controlling of the disease and reduced the disease severity with different degrees. In this technical document, we summarize the current knowledge of mint rust disease epidemiology symptoms and signs, disease cycle, ecology and disease management.