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Urgent call for global fight against wheat stem rust strain Ug99

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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: 12 November 2008
Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Newsroom [edited] <http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/8391/icode/>
 
Urgent call for global fight against wheat killer

Representatives of major wheat producing countries have called for urgent coordinated action to prevent and control wheat stem rust strain Ug99. The fungus is capable of causing heavy damage to wheat crops and is a major threat to food security. At the International Conference on Wheat Stem Rust Ug99 in New Delhi (6-8 Nov 2008), 31 countries pledged to strongly support prevention and control of wheat stem rust as a matter of national policy and international cooperation. Countries should develop contingency plans to prevent rust epidemics, share surveillance information and establish a global early warning system. Breeding research should be intensified to develop Ug99 resistant varieties.

The new virulent strain Ug99 has spread from East Africa to Yemen, Sudan, and in late 2007 to Iran. Currently there is no evidence that it has spread to any other country. A recent field survey showed that
Ug99 is not present in India, Pakistan, Egypt, and China. It is estimated that as much as 80 percent of all wheat varieties planted in Asia and Africa are susceptible to Ug99.

FAO [United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation] has recently launched its Wheat Rust Disease Global Programme that supports 29 countries in East and North Africa, the Near East, and Central and South Asia, that are either affected or at risk of the disease and that account for 37 percent of global wheat production.

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Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>


[Wheat stem rust is caused by the fungus _Puccinia graminis_ f. sp.
_tritici_. Stems can be completely girdled by the rust pustules and some fields are totally destroyed. Resistance to stem rust in today's wheats is based largely on the gene Sr31, and Ug99 emerged as a new pathogen strain being able to overcome Sr31 resistance (for more information on wheat stem rust and Ug99 see ProMED-mail post no.
20080307.0925). Rust spores are carried eastwards on prevailing winds and regions at high risk of a Ug99 incursion have been identified accordingly. It is estimated that Ug99 could reduce world wheat production by 60 million tons. An even more virulent variant able to overcome additional resistance genes has recently emerged in Kenya, and this increases the threat to global wheat production even further.

Maps
Middle East, including Ug99 alert area:
<http://worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/me.htm>
Africa:
<http://worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/africa/maps/africa.htm>

Pictures of stem rust symptoms on wheat:
<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
Additional news stories:
<http://www.business-standard.com/india/storypage.php?autono=339710>  and <http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=28906&Cr=wheat&Cr1=>
Delhi Declaration on Ug99:
<http://www.icar.org.in/news/DELHI-DECLARATION-ON-WHEAT-STEM-RUST-UG99.htm>
Information on wheat stem rust:
<http://www.ars.usda.gov/Main/docs.htm?docid=9910>
Information on Ug99:
<http://www.pestalert.org/viewNewsAlert.cfm?naid=36>  and <http://www.agbioworld.org/newsletter_wm/index.php?caseid=archive&newsid=2686>
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/>
FAO:
<http://www.fao.org/index_en.htm>.  - Mod.DHA]

[see also in the archive:
Wheat stem rust, strain Ug99 - Iran: 1st rep, alert 20080307.0925
2007
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Wheat stem rust, strain Ug99 - Kenya: new variant 20071217.4054 Wheat stem rust, strain Ug99 - multistate: resistance screening 20071208.3957 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
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Wheat stem rust, strain Ug99 - Pakistan: susp., 1st report 20060514.1366 Stem rust, wheat - multicountry: new strains 20060406.1039
2005
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Wheat stem rust, Ug99, new strain - East Africa 20050928.2849 Wheat stem rust, new strain - Uganda 20050912.2698
2002
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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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