Sources of Resistance to Puccinia menthae in Mint. D. D. Roberts, Research Geneticist, Agricultural Research, Science and Education Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Crop Science Department, Oregon State University, Corvallis 97331. C. E. Horner, Professor, Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University, Corvallis 97331. Plant Dis. 65:322-324. . This article is in the public domain and not copyrightable. It may be freely reprinted with customary crediting of the source. The American Phytopathological Society, 1981. DOI: 10.1094/PD-65-322.

All commercial mint (Mentha sp.) cultivars are susceptible to one or more races of rust (Puccinia menthae). Mint strains resistant or immune to rust were identified from a 4-yr study of a diverse collection containing 703 accessions. Resistance or susceptibility of the host did not change during the study and mint strains identified as immune in 1976 remained so through 1979. Strains of Mentha arvensis, M. citrata, M. aquatica, and M. rotundifolia had the highest degree of resistance and possess other characteristics important to a mint breeding program.