Black Fungus: stem rust threatens Asian wheat crops
Pastor Dale Morgan
Black Fungus: stem rust threatens Asian wheat crops*
23 Apr 2007 14:06:00 GMT
Scientists are raising the alarm about a deadly new strain of wheat
fungus that can destroy entire fields and has spread from East Africa to
Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula.
Britain's Observer newspaper reported at the weekend that the disease -
called black stem rust - has already wiped out harvests in Uganda, Kenya
and Ethiopia. It hasn't caused major food or social problems so far
because wheat isn't a staple crop in most of East Africa.
But experts warn that the consequences could be much worse if the blight
spreads to Egypt or through the Saudi Arabian Peninsula to countries in
the Near East.
"The fungus can spread rapidly and has the potential to cause global
crop epidemics and wheat harvest losses of several billion dollars. This
could lead to increased wheat prices and local or regional food
shortages," said Dr Jacques Diouf, director-general of the U.N. Food and
Agriculture Organisation (FAO). "Developing countries that are relying
on wheat and do not have access to resistant varieties will be
particularly hit."
Black stem rust has been around for centuries, but according to the
Observer, experts began to develop resistant varieties of wheat back in
the 1960s. Once these were adopted the fungus was more or less
eradicated from most farms.
However in 1999, a new strain emerged in Uganda which targets resistance
genes in wheat. The FAO estimates that up to 80 percent of all wheat
varieties planted in Asia and Africa, are susceptible to the new
pathogen, known as Ug99.
Wind carries the spores long distances. The Observer reports that Ug99
has already been found in Sudan, wind patterns suggest it will soon
reach Saudi Arabia and the Near East, and it could eventually get to
Iran, Lebanon, Pakistan, Syria and Turkey.
An international consortium called the Global Rust Initiative has been
set up to fight the spread of rust fungus diseases around the world,
with most of its funding from Canada, India and the United States.
The Global Rust Initiative says its scientists have identified promising
experimental wheat materials that are resistant to Ug99. But it
emphasises that going from the first trials to growing new,
rust-resistant varieties in millions of hectares of fields takes time
and a huge effort.
Coordinator Rick Ward told the Observer there's no time to lose in
breeding the new varieties. "If we do not, then we face the prospect of
countries like Egypt and Pakistan suffering calamitous losses of wheat
production. That would trigger all sorts of destabilising effects, ones
that could have profound implications for the West."