Caused by the fungus Puccinia horiana, white rust is a serious fungal disease of the foliage, spread by airborne spores. It originates in China and Japan, and first arrived in the UK on infected

A method of growing new plants from parts of an existing plant, such as sections of root, stem, leaf or bud. When prepared correctly and planted in the right conditions, they can produce roots and eventually become independent plants. There is a wide range of different methods for taking cuttings, depending on the plant and time of year.

Plants affected by chrysanthemum white rust may exhibit the following symptoms:

• Pale yellow spots develop on the upper leaf surface
• These later become sunken and turn brown, and buff-coloured, lumpy spore pustules develop on the corresponding under surface
• The pustules turn white under conditions of high humidity, as airborne spores are produced
• Severely affected leaves shrivel and turn brown, and plants are stunted and lack vigour
• Pustules are occasionally produced on the petals

Chrysanthemum is also sometimes affected by brown rust, caused by the closely related Puccinia chrysanthemi. This differs by producing dark brown pustules on the undersurface of the leaf, often in concentric circles. Brown rust is not as damaging to chrysanthemum as white rust.

The RHS believes that avoiding pests, diseases and weeds by good practice in cultivation methods, cultivar selection, garden hygiene and encouraging or introducing natural enemies, should be the first line of control. If chemical controls are used, they should be used only in a minimal and highly targeted manner.

Non-chemical control

• Check plants regularly and remove and dispose of affected leaves
• Dispose of heavily infected plants
• Do not take cuttings from affected plants
• Monitor bought-in plants or cuttings closely for development of symptoms. If possible, keep bought-in material separate from any existing plants for several weeks to allow time for symptoms of any latent infections (see 'Biology' section below) to develop
• Hot water treatment of dormant chrysanthemum stools (rootstocks) can give control of both white rust and chrysanthemum eelworm (nematode). All remaining foliage should be removed, the roots trimmed and the stools submerged for five minutes in water at 46°C (115°F). After this, the stools are plunged into cold water to cool them, followed by air-drying. It is important that the temperature is monitored closely – if too low, it is unlikely that good control will be achieved, whilst if it is significantly higher it will have an adverse effect on the plant and could even kill it

Chemical control

The fungicides tebuconazole (Provanto Fungus Fighter Concentrate), tebuconazole with trifloxystrobin (Provanto Fungus Fighter Plus, Toprose Fungus Control & Protect), and triticonazole (Fungus Clear Ultra) are approved for the control of rust diseases on ornamental plants.

The following products contain a combination of both insecticide and fungicide, enabling the control of both damaging invertebrates and disease: triticonazole containing acetamiprid (Roseclear Ultra, Roseclear Ultra Gun). When a proprietary product contains an insecticide as well as a fungicide it would be preferable to use an alternative product if invertebrate damage is not a problem on the plants treated.

There have been cases identified where the white rust fungus has developed resistance to the chemical group of fungicides to which tebuconazole and triticonazole belong

These measures are also applicable for the control of brown rust.

Inclusion of a fungicide product does not indicate a recommendation or endorsement by the RHS. It is a list of products currently available to the home gardener.

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Fungicides for gardeners (Adobe Acrobat pdf document outlining fungicides available to gardeners)

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The rust fungi are described as biotrophs; that is, they grow within the living tissues of the plant and extract nutrients from the cells. Although they do not kill tissues rapidly, heavy attacks by rusts can cause tissues to collapse and die prematurely and this is the case with white rust. Some rusts require two different plant hosts in order to complete their life-cycle, but white rust spends its entire life on chrysanthemum.

The buff-coloured pustules on the leaf undersides contain numerous spores called teliospores that remain embedded within the leaf. Under humid conditions the teliospores germinate to produce a second spore type called a basidiospore. It is the production of the minute basidiospores that causes the pustules to turn white, and it is these spores that are carried in air currents to create new infections when they land on other chrysanthemum leaves.

Infection is favoured by cool, wet or humid conditions. The disease is therefore most problematic in late summer and autumn, when suitable temperatures combine with prolonged leaf wetness caused by rain or morning dews.

The fungus cannot survive for extended periods on leaf debris, but can persist on overwintering plants or stools (rootstocks).

Like many rust diseases, white rust has a 'latent period', when infection of the plant has occurred but symptoms are not yet visible. Depending on environmental conditions this latent period can range from a few days to several weeks. Transport of symptomless but infected plants or cuttings is the main way in which the disease has been able to spread between continents.

Susceptibility: White rust does not affect any plants other than chrysanthemum. There are considerable differences in susceptibility between different chrysanthemum cultivars.