Scientists Help Afghanistan Fight Deadly Wheat Disease

Researchers from the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) and the International Center for the Improvement of Maize and Wheat (CIMMYT) are working together to help Afghanistan fight an intruder, a deadly new virulent race of the wheat stem rust . Known as UG99, the new strain is on a global march, wreaking havoc along its way and threatening the global wheat supply. It has recently been spotted in Iran and now threatens Afghanistan.

"It is only a matter of time before it reaches Afghanistan and then South Asia," said Mahmoud Solh, ICARDA director general. "We have been lucky so far, but we know that the disease is heading in this direction, and most of the varieties planted in the region are at risk. In fact, most of the wheat varieties used around the world are vulnerable to this stem rust; the last major outbreak of stem rust was seen during the 1950s."

ICARDA and CIMMYT have provided farmers in Afghanistan with high yielding and disease resistant varieties of wheat. Thirteen farmers' associations, known collectively as the Afghan National Seed Organization (ANSAR), also have been created to grow seed of improved varieties for sale to other farmers.

Visit http://www.icarda.org/ for more information.