Word: robigus
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Wheat rust has been around a long time. It bothered Roman wheat growers so much that they created a special rust god, Robigus, and blamed him for its outbreaks. U.S. plant scientists thought they had licked it. They bred rustproof wheat varieties that kept U.S. fields almost clear of the disease for 15 years, accounting for a good part of recent bumper wheat crops. Last summer Race 15B, a new, extra-virulent strain, appeared on wheat from Pennsylvania to Texas. It attacked all commercial varieties. Durum wheat, used for making spaghetti, was hardest hit, with 10 million bushels lost...
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