By Sharon Durham, USDA
U.S. Department of Agriculture
scientists have identified a number of stem rust-resistant wheat varieties and are retesting them to verify their resistance.
Stem rust occurs worldwide wherever wheat is grown. Over a large area, losses from stem rust can be severe, ranging from 50% to 70%, and individual fields can be destroyed.
ARS is USDA's principal intramural scientific research agency, and the research supports the USDA priority of promoting international food security.
Excellent procedures have been developed by CIMMYT and KARI personnel to promote rust disease in the nursery, enabling Bonman to evaluate which ARS accessions are resistant to rust. According to Bonman, CIMMYT facilitates the nursery and site logistics, and ARS helps with evaluating the level of rust development in wheat varieties.
The research team's goal is to find new genes for resistance to a rust strain called Ug99, because that strain has the capacity to overcome many of the resistance genes that have been used for the past 50 years. This work will help Africa's growers now and will help suppress disease and reduce damage in developing countries. It also will prepare the U.S. for Ug99 if the disease arrives here, Bonman says.
about this and other cooperative studies between ARS and international research partners in the October 2011 issue of Agricultural Research