Rome, Italy
March 5, 2008
A new and virulent wheat fungus,
previously found in East Africa and Yemen, has moved to major
wheat growing areas in Iran, FAO
reported today. The fungus is capable of wreaking havoc to wheat
production by destroying entire fields.
Countries east of Iran, like Afghanistan, India, Pakistan,
Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, all major wheat
producers, are most threatened by the fungus and should be on
high alert, FAO said.
It is estimated that as much as 80 percent of all wheat
varieties planted in Asia and Africa are susceptible to the
wheat stem rust (Puccinia graminis). The spores of wheat rust
are mostly carried by wind over long distances and across
continents.
“The detection of the wheat rust fungus in Iran is very
worrisome,” said Shivaji Pandey, Director of FAO’s Plant
Production and Protection Division.
“The fungus is spreading rapidly and could seriously lower wheat
production in countries at direct risk. Affected countries and
the international community have to ensure that the spread of
the disease gets under control in order to reduce the risk to
countries that are already hit by high food prices.”
The government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has informed FAO
that the fungus has been detected in some localities in Broujerd
and Hamedan in western Iran. Laboratory tests have confirmed the
presence of the fungus. Iran said it will enhance its research
capacity to face the new infection and develop new wheat
varieties resistant to the disease.
Ug99
The wheat fungus first emerged in Uganda in 1999 and is
therefore called Ug99. The wind-borne transboundary pest
subsequently spread to Kenya and Ethiopia. In 2007, an FAO
mission confirmed for the first time that Ug99 has affected
wheat fields in Yemen. The Ug99 strain found in Yemen was
already more virulent than the one found in East Africa.
Ethiopia and Kenya had serious wheat rust epidemics in 2007 with
considerable yield losses.
The Borlaug Global Rust Initiative (BGRI), established to combat
wheat rusts around the world, will support countries in
developing resistant varieties, producing their clean quality
seeds, upgrading national plant protection and plant breeding
services and developing contingency plans. The BGRI was founded
by Norman Borlaug (known as "the father of the Green
Revolution"), Cornell University, the International Center for
Agricultural Research in the Dry areas (ICARDA), the
International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and
FAO.
Disease surveillance and wheat breeding is already underway to
monitor the fungus and to develop Ug99 resistant varieties.
However, more efforts are required to develop long term durable
resistant varieties that can be made available to farmers in
affected countries and countries at risk. FAO urged countries to
increase disease surveillance and intensify efforts to control
the disease. |
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