Wheat Rust Re-emerges in Africa

September 14, 2005 -- Biologists warn that a new strain of wheat rust which has emerged in East Africa could wipe out 10 percent of the world’s wheat production if it is not contained. The disease, caused by the fungus Puccinia graminis, produces a rusty color on the stem of wheat and destroys the plant.

Wheat rust caused severe grain losses and famines during the early 20th century. Since the 1950s, scientists have created disease-resistant, high-yield strains of wheat that seemed to hold the plant pest in check. In 1999, though, an especially virulent strain was discovered in Uganda, and re-emerged in Kenya in 2001 and in Ethiopia two years later. The fungus is spread by spores carried by the wind or on travelers’ clothing.

A National Research Council report, Genetically Modified Pest-Protected Plants: Science and Regulation, compares the results of genetic engineering and conventional breeding methods of developing pest- and disease-resistant plants and reviews issues associated with transgenic pest-protected plants, such as allergenicity, evolution of resistance in the pest or pathogen species, and other concerns. The Research Council report Lost Crops of Africa: Volume I -- Grains explores a variety of African grains that are little-known internationally. Also, an InterAcademy Council report, Realizing the Promise and Potential of African Agriculture, recommends ways to use science and technology to boost agricultural productivity, profitability, and sustainability in Africa.

• Genetically Modified Pest-Protected Plants: Science and Regulation (2000)
• Realizing the Promise and Potential of African Agriculture (2004)
• Lost Crops of Africa: Volume I -- Grains (1996)

• International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center
• Wheat Diseases and Pests: A Guide for Field Identification