Wheat growers in Kenya are battling a variant of the Ug99 rust fungus, which chokes nutrients in the wheat stem and prevents wheat kernels from forming properly. The plant disease can cause severe losses. “Ug99 has so far been detected in Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Iran, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Yemen and Zimbabwe,” says the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). Working under the umbrella of the Borlaug Global Rust Initiative, scientists and governments are developing disease-resistant varieties to stop the spread of Ug99.
“The major fear among scientists is the potential impact of Ug99 if it spreads into the Asian breadbasket of India and China,” says CIMMYT. China and India, the two most populous countries on earth, grow nearly one-third of the world’s wheat. CIMMYT says eight variants of Ug99 have been found in Africa. The center has developed 45 wheat strains resistant to Ug99. Resistant varieties and fungicides have halted the spread of Ug99 to date, it says.