It is an autoecious fungus, meaning that all stages of its life cycle – pycniospores, aeciospores, and teliospores – all develop upon the same host plant [1] [2] [3] .

Severe rust infections stunt or kill young asparagus shoots, causing foliage to fall prematurely, and reduce the ability of the plant to store food reserves.

In young plantings where the spears are not harvested, these spots develop into yellow, cup-shaped, spore-bearing aecia in concentric ring patterns.

[23] When the pustules mature, they release large numbers of rust-colored spores called urediniospores that cause new infections through the summer season.

The spores are carried by air currents to produce numerous infections on other asparagus plants, often in fields several hundred feet or more away.

[6] Spores overwinter on host plant residue, germinate in early spring, and produce new infections on growing asparagus spears.

[21] Around springtime when young asparagus shoots are emerging, the overwintering teliospores germinate on the old stems to produce sporidia.

[25][26] Puccinia asparagi thrives where dews or fogs are prevalent because droplets of water are needed for successful infection of the host plant.

[16] As with many crop diseases, rust disease caused by Puccinia asparagi spreads rapidly due to poor field maintenance and close proximity of crop fields – asparagus rust was enabled to establish itself from New Jersey to California in five years.

Even in areas with climate ill suited to support vegetation, such as the Imperial Valley of California, have reported severe rust damage, with many crop fields having 100% infection rate.

[32] Serious rust infections stunt or kill young asparagus shoots, causing foliage to fall prematurely, and reduce the ability of the plant to store food reserves.

[9] Effective field sanitation, irrigation practices, and monitoring for lesions are important components of managing rust.

It is essential to provide adequate irrigation during the fern period that occurs in the summer-spring transition so that plants are neither over- nor under-watered.

To prevent infection, it is ideal to have crops organized in well-spaced rows oriented in the direction of prevailing winds to maximize air movement and facilitate drying after rain.