New strain of wheat stem rust may pose major threat to Indian crop

American plant pathologists have found out a new strain of wheat stem rust, Ug99, that has the potential to devastate wheat production worldwide, including India.

Washington, May 8 : American plant pathologists have found out a new strain of wheat stem rust, Ug99, that has the potential to devastate wheat production worldwide, including India.

Apart from the fact that it is highly destructive in nature, the new strain is also evolving continuously.

The virulent strain evolved in Uganda and has already spread into Kenya, Ethiopia and Yemen, and has the potential to spread into Pakistan, India, China, and eventually North America.

According to David Marshall, research leader with the USDA-ARS, Raleigh, NC, "this new race could attack wheat varieties in many countries and could virtually overcome most of the wheat resistant varieties around the globe".

If allowed to reach regions at risk, it could also create epidemics more severe than what farmers have encountered in decades.

It could destroy farmers' harvests in wheat-producing areas worldwide, Marshall said.

As of now, researchers are gathering new information nationally and internationally to combat this disease.

The American Phytopathological Society (APS) and the Society of Nematologists (SON) have also planned for a "Stem Rust: A Threat to Global Wheat Production" symposium as part of the 'Global Rust Initiative' on August 1 in San Diego, California, during which the researchers will present the latest on new sources for global resistance to stem rust, details on how the disease is mutating, and how the disease might affect wheat production around the world.

ANI