COFFEE LEAF RUST

A major fungal coffee disease affecting Coffea Arabica. It can be treated with fungicide, or with good pruning regimen and cultivar selection. It was first noticed in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1869. Ceylon was formerly the largest coffee producing country, until rust wiped out the tree stock and tea was hastily planted. CLR spread to Sumatra in 1876, Java in 1878, Africa in the 1880s. It spread to Brazil in 1970, then rapidly to Central America.