Puccinia melanocephala is a fungus and plant pathogen, it is the causal agent of sugarcane rust. It was originally found on the leaves of a species of Arundinaria (cane) in Assam, India.

This pathogen was found to also affect multiple species of sugarcane, including Saccharum spontaneum or wild sugarcane, Saccharum robustum, and the most commonly cultivated species Saccharum officinarum. Puccinia melanocephala can also infect other member of the family Poaceae, including some species of bamboo such as Bambusa vulgaris. The first symptoms of sugarcane rust are elongate, yellow-colored leaf spots, roughly 1mm to 4mm in length. The leaf spots gradually become bigger and turn a reddish-brown color. The uredia develop underneath the epidermis where the leaf spots are present. When the uredia become big enough, they break through the epidermis to form the characteristic rust pustules from which uredospores are borne. These pustules can coalesce, resulting in large areas of dead tissue.

...