

Then remove all fallen debris from the soil under the plant, as this may still carry the spores. The first thing to do after identifying that your plant has fungal rust is to snip off all leaves that have rust spotting on them. The fungus needs a moist environment to thrive. Nutrient burn manifests as brown spots on leaves and may cause leaves to dry up and curl at the edges.įungal rust spots on leaves develop when fungal spores spread from one infected plant to another through air currents or water. If a plant absorbs excessively high levels of sodium, potassium or magnesium, or a number of other nutrients, it will begin to show signs of nutrient burn. If you notice marks on your plant’s leaves, inspect it for further signs of a pest infestation! Some pests, like spider mites, leave marks that resemble rust spots. If you think this can be the possible culprit, consider investing in a soil pH meter. Rust-spot-like leaf discoloration can occur if a plant is in acidic soil. There are a few other conditions with similar symptoms, so make sure you are not confusing the rust spots on your leaves with signs of one of the following: If the fungus is left without treatment for too long, it will lead to black spotting of the leaf and eventually to leaf drop. Leaf distortion will occur in more severely affected plants. Leaves affected by the fungal disorder will eventually develop rust-colored blots with a diameter of approximately half an inch.įungal rust spores are powder-like in texture.

White spots on a plant’s upper leaves are an early sign of fungal rot. There are a number of other reasons why your plant’s leaves might have orange discoloration or spots, so it is important to ensure that you have correctly identified the cause as fungal rust disease before beginning to treat it. In order to treat plants with rust spots, you need to cut off all the affected foliage and quarantine the plant. Plants prone to rust spots should be kept in a dry environment. The fungal spores need moist conditions to spread. Rust spots appear as a smattering of discolored blots on leaves and are caused by a fungal disease. If left too long without treatment, the fungal spores can spread throughout the plant or even to surrounding plants on air currents or through shared water sources. The brightly colored spots are repositories of reproductive spores of a variety of fungi from the Pucciniales order. Rust spots are fairly easy to treat if they are correctly identified early on before they have the chance to spread. Fungal rust disease commonly brings about orange, red, or yellow spots on plant foliage.
