August 14-18, 2017, Omsk State Agrarian University (member of Omsky Biocluster), with the assistance of CIMMYT, organized a visit of international experts on wheat stem rust.
The international delegation was represented by Dr. Dave Hodson (rust monitoring specialist from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center CIMMYT, Ethiopia); Prof. Mogens S. Hovmøller (Aarhus University, Head of the Global Rust Reference Center, Denmark); Dr. Alexei Morgunov (Head of the CIMMYT Representative Office in Turkey).
The wheat stem rust in 2016 caused significant damage to the grain production of Western Siberia. The loss of yield from the defeat of wheat stem rust in the whole region amounted to more than 2 million tons of grain. The population of stem rust pathogens, represented by scientists from OmSAU, was studied at the Global Rust Reference Center, Denmark. According to the results of genetic analysis, a wide variety of races and their virulence were revealed.
During the visit, the possible causes of the epidemic of stem rust, the necessary control measures and measures to reduce the severity of stem rust for wheat, ways to accelerate the selection process for the creation of sustainable varieties of wheat for the Western Siberian and Ural regions of Russia under the KASIB program were considered. The international delegation members noted the high level of selection and genetic research and achievements in wheat breeding in OmSAU and other scientific institutions of Western Siberia.
