|
|
Article: Threat underlines need for research on wheat
- Article from:
- Winnipeg Free Press
- Article date:
- July 18, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright F.P. Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership Jul 18, 2009. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
|
New types needed as rust imperils food supply
It's been more than 50 years since Western Canada experienced the devastation of a wheat stem rust outbreak, thanks to the efforts of plant breeders who came up with varieties capable of outsmarting the fungus.
Until 1954, when the last major outbreak wiped out 40 per cent of the wheat crop, farmers faced a constant threat that the spores that rode in on the summer breezes would take hold and choke the life from their crops.
It was good while it lasted. Now governments and wheat breeders are worriedly eyeing a new strain of stem rust that surfaced in Uganda in 1999 -- appropriately named Ug99, which is on the move and posing a threat to global ...