Beijing, China and
El Batán, Mexico
December 4, 2007
On 04 December 2007, the
Chinese
Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) and the
International Maize and Wheat
Improvement Center (CIMMYT) will sign a memo of
understanding for a three-year, joint breeding initiative worth
US$ 1 million per year to develop new wheat varieties that
tolerate heat and drought, helping farmers face climate change,
and that resist major diseases of the crop.
“Of particular concern is the new, virulent strain of stem rust,
Ug99, which appeared in eastern Africa eight years ago but has
since moved on prevailing winds to the Middle East and could
soon threaten the vast wheat lands of Asia,” says Iwanaga. “Both
parties see an urgent need to screen thousands of wheat lines to
identify ones that resist the new rust race.”
|
Chinese Agricultural Science Academies take regional
award for work with global research center from
Mexico to breed high-yield, quality wheats |
|
CAAS and CIMMYT
to strengthen ties in a US$ 3 million agreement on
04 December 2007
In a ceremony in the Great Hall of the People, the
Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science (CAAS) and
the Shandong Academy of Agricultural Science
received today the 2007 Award for Outstanding
Agricultural Technology in the Asia-Pacific Region,
for their work with the International Maize and
Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) to develop
high-yielding wheat varieties with high-quality
grain for Chinese food products.
Three wheat cultivars from this work were sown on
more than 8 million hectares in China during
2002-2006, adding 2.4 million tons of grain to
Chinese wheat production, equivalent to US$ 411
million. Farmers who grew the varieties also
received an estimated US$ 101 million in
quality-based premiums for their grain, and an
additional US$ 8 million was generated through
marketing seed of the varieties.
The award was given by the Consultative Group on
International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)—a
partnership of countries, international and regional
organizations and private foundations supporting the
work of 15 international research centers—as part of
its annual general meeting, held in Beijing this
year. It recognizes a scientist or research team in
the Asia-Pacific who has developed an outstanding
technology or research product that contributes to
increased productivity or quality in agriculture,
improved food quality, and / or improved management
of natural resources in the region.
“China is the world’s largest wheat producer,
harvesting more than 100 million tons annually, and
the crop accounts for 22% of the country’s food
production,” says Masa Iwanaga, director general of
CIMMYT, a global research and training organization
based in Mexico. “Our joint efforts in yield and
grain quality have helped both farmers and
consumers, and that’s why the two academies received
this award.”
China and CIMMYT partnerships goes back three
decades. More than 200 Chinese scientists have taken
part in training and joint research with CIMMYT.
Around 4 million hectares in China are sown to
varieties that carry CIMMYT wheat in their
pedigrees, and Chinese breeding stocks and
partnerships have improved the disease resistance of
CIMMYT-derived varieties grown round the world.
“These and other joint efforts have helped improve
the lives of millions of people in China and across
the globe, reducing poverty, increasing food
security, and protecting the environment,” says
Zhonghu He, CAAS wheat scientist who serves as
CIMMYT liaison officer in China. |
|
China and
Mexico team up to fight wheat disease - The research
will develop drought-resistant wheat |
by Arturo Barba,
SciDev.Net
Two agricultural research organisations have agreed
to collaborate on research to combat wheat diseases
and develop climate change-resistant wheat
varieties.
The agreement, between the Mexico-based
International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center
(CIMMYT) and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural
Sciences, was signed last week (4 December).
Jointly funded by the two centres, the US$3 million,
three-year project comprises a shared breeding
initiative to create new wheat varieties that
tolerate heat and drought — helping farmers face
climate change — and resist major wheat diseases.
Research will be carried out at both centres, as
well as other sites around the world.
The project will involve screening several thousand
wheat samples, provided by both centres, for useful
traits — particularly against a new strain of stem
wheat rust, Ug99. Stem rust is caused by a parasitic
fungus and devastates crops.
Traditional plant breeding techniques will be used
to create suitable varieties. Molecular markers —
specific DNA segments containing genes associated
with desired characteristics — will be used to trace
characteristics through generations.
"Of particular concern is the new, virulent strain
of stem rust, Ug99, which appeared in eastern Africa
eight years ago but has since moved on to the Middle
East and could soon threaten the vast wheat lands of
Asia," said Masa Iwanaga, director-general of
CIMMYT, in a press release.
"Both parties see an urgent need to screen thousands
of wheat lines to identify ones that resist the new
rust race."
Researchers hope to have a wheat variety resistant
to Ug99 by the end of the project, according to Mike
Listman, from the communications department at
CIMMYT.
"The project is the continuation of collaboration
activities that already exist between both
institutions," he told SciDev.Net.
Partnerships between China and CIMMYT go back three
decades. More than 200 Chinese scientists have taken
part in training and joint research with CIMMYT.
Around four million hectares in China are sown with
wheat varieties derived from CIMMYT plants, and
Chinese breeding stocks and partnerships have
improved the disease resistance of CIMMYT-derived
varieties grown around the world. |
Other news
from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences
RELATED RELEASES
China and
Mexico team up to fight wheat disease - The research will
develop drought-resistant wheat
Arturo Barba,
SciDev.Net
Two agricultural research organisations have agreed to
collaborate on research to combat wheat diseases and develop
climate change-resistant wheat varieties.
The agreement, between the Mexico-based International Maize and
Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the Chinese Academy of
Agricultural Sciences, was signed last week (4 December).
Jointly funded by the two centres, the US$3 million, three-year
project comprises a shared breeding initiative to create new
wheat varieties that tolerate heat and drought — helping farmers
face climate change — and resist major wheat diseases.
Research will be carried out at both centres, as well as other
sites around the world.
The project will involve screening several thousand wheat
samples, provided by both centres, for useful traits —
particularly against a new strain of stem wheat rust, Ug99. Stem
rust is caused by a parasitic fungus and devastates crops.
Traditional plant breeding techniques will be used to create
suitable varieties. Molecular markers — specific DNA segments
containing genes associated with desired characteristics — will
be used to trace characteristics through generations.
"Of particular concern is the new, virulent strain of stem rust,
Ug99, which appeared in eastern Africa eight years ago but has
since moved on to the Middle East and could soon threaten the
vast wheat lands of Asia," said Masa Iwanaga, director-general
of CIMMYT, in a press release.
"Both parties see an urgent need to screen thousands of wheat
lines to identify ones that resist the new rust race."
Researchers hope to have a wheat variety resistant to Ug99 by
the end of the project, according to Mike Listman, from the
communications department at CIMMYT.
"The project is the continuation of collaboration activities
that already exist between both institutions," he told
SciDev.Net.
Partnerships between China and CIMMYT go back three decades.
More than 200 Chinese scientists have taken part in training and
joint research with CIMMYT.
Around four million hectares in China are sown with wheat
varieties derived from CIMMYT plants, and Chinese breeding
stocks and partnerships have improved the disease resistance of
CIMMYT-derived varieties grown around the world.
A
ProMED-mail post
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases <http://www.isid.org>
Date: December 4, 2007
Source: China View [edited]
<http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-12/04/content_7199323.htm>
China teams up with international wheat body to fight African
disease
The Chinese Academy of
Agricultural Sciences [CAAS] signed an agreement on Tuesday
[4 Dec 2007] to cooperate on research with the International
Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) to fight against a
new subspecies of wheat stem rust. The 3 million U.S. dollars
project involves testing several thousand wheat samples provided
by both sides. There will be screening for disease-resistant
[wheat] strains from Africa where the new subspecies of the
major cereal disease originated.
It is believed the new wheat stem rust subspecies, which is
dubbed "Ug99" and has already spread to the Middle East, would
most likely encroach into major Asian wheat production areas.
Shi Yanquan, deputy head of the science and education department
at the Agriculture Ministry, said at the signing ceremony that
it would take 3 years to complete the project. He added China
had cooperated with CIMMYT for more than 3 decades.
Wheat stem rust occurs worldwide wherever wheat is grown. The
disease often causes severe loss of crops, usually between 50 to
70 percent, over a large area. In many cases, individual fields
can be totally destroyed. Damage is greatest when the disease
becomes severe before the grain is completely formed.
[Byline: Gao Ying]
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[Wheat stem rust is caused by the fungus _Puccinia graminis_ f.
sp. _tritici_. It occurs worldwide throughout wheat producing
areas. Symptoms are dark orange pustules on the stems and also
on the leaves. Stems can be completely girdled by the pustules
damaging the conducting tissue and preventing grain fill. Yield
losses of up to 70 percent are reported, but some fields are
totally destroyed. If stem rust arrives early in the growing
cycle, losses are higher. The fungus is spread by wind and with
infected straw.
New pathogen races are emerging with increased virulence against
genes previously used for resistance breeding. Considered most
dangerous at present is strain Ug99 which was first reported in
Uganda in 1999. Recurring epidemics in Kenya and then Ethiopia
followed and it has recently spread to Yemen. It may also be
present in Pakistan, Sudan, and Tanzania and appears to be
moving on prevailing winds.
Ug99 can infect and cause disease in many commonly grown stem
rust "resistant" wheat lines. In much of the world, resistance
to stem rust in wheat is based at least in part on the gene
Sr31. High levels of stem rust infection were observed on wheat
lines in a nursery at Kalengyere Research Station in Uganda.
Because several of the diseased lines contained the Sr31, Lr26,
and Yr9 genes for rust resistance, a new strain with virulence
to Sr31 was suspected.
Ug99 is considered a significant threat to global wheat
production.
To combat Ug99 worldwide, countries need to increase vigilance,
establish efficient monitoring and surveillance systems, use
certified seed, develop resistant varieties suitable for their
region, and develop contingency plans in case of an outbreak.
The international Global Rust Initiative was set up which is
lead by CIMMYT and the International Center for Agricultural
Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) and was also joined by FAO
(United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation). CIMMYT has
a long established partnership with Chinese cereal geneticists,
and if new wheat lines with resistance to Ug99 can be developed
these will be of significant benefit to wheat growers worldwide.
A focus on resistance screening of African germplasm is
suggested because this is the region of origin of Ug99, and host
resistance is most likely to be found co-evolving with an
emerging new pathogen strain.
CIMMYT (Mexico City) and ICARDA (Aleppo, Syria) belong to the
Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
(CGIAR), a partnership of countries, international and regional
organisations and private foundations supporting the work of 15
international research centers.
Pictures of stem rust on wheat:
<http://scarab.msu.montana.edu/Disease/DiseaseGuidewebpics/Petewebpics41-50/Img0042.jpg>,
<http://www.cimmyt.org/english/wps/news/2005/sept/images/stem2.jpg>
and <http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/crops/diseases/images/fac15s01.jpg>
Links
CIMMYT news release:
<http://www.cimmyt.org/english/wps/news/2007/nrelease/caas.htm>
Information on wheat stem rust:
<http://www.ars.usda.gov/Main/docs.htm?docid=9910>
Information on Ug99:
<http://www.agbioworld.org/newsletter_wm/index.php?caseid=archive&newsid=2686>,
<http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/315/5820/1786>
(subscription required) and
<http://www.pestalert.org/viewNewsAlert.cfm?naid=36>
Ug99 distribution and potential global impact:
<http://www.cimmyt.cgiar.org/gis/pdf/UG99postH.pdf>
Ug99 and stem rust resistance genes used in wheat breeding:
<http://www.ars.usda.gov/Main/docs.htm?docid=14649>
_P. graminis_ f.sp. _tritici_ taxonomy:
<http://www.indexfungorum.org/Names/NamesRecord.asp?RecordID=455607>
Global Rust Initiative:
<http://www.globalrust.org/>
CGIAR research centres:
<http://www.cgiar.org/centers/index.html>
- Mod.DHA]
[see also in
the
archive:
Barley yellow dwarf virus & stem rust, cereals - Kenya
20070705.2132 Wheat stem rust, strain Ug99 - Yemen (02):
government response 20070430.1399 Wheat stem rust, spread: FAO,
Global Rust Initiative 20070414.1241 Wheat stem rust, strain
Ug99 - Yemen: 1st report 20070117.0229]
2006
----
Wheat stem rust, strain Ug99 - Pakistan: susp., 1st report
20060514.1366 Stem rust, wheat - multicountry: new strains
20060406.1039
2005
----
Wheat stem rust, Ug99, new strain - East Africa 20050928.2849
Wheat stem rust, new strain - Uganda 20050912.2698
2002
----
Wheat stem rust fungus, new virulence genes - So Afr
20020814.5049 2000
----
Wheat stem rust in resistant wheat lines - Uganda 20000702.1092]
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