#leaf rust

[wemdashikurfan-blog]

Evaluation of Kenyan wheat (Triticum aestimum L.) – Md.Ashikur – Medium

Anncetta Gakii Nyamu, James O. Owuoche, Pascal P.O Ojwang, Ruth Wanyera Department of Crops, Horticulture and Soils Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Egerton University, Egerton, Kenya Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), Njoro, Kenya Key words: Leaf rust, Wheat, Resistance

Leaf rust (Puccinia triticina) is one of the major rust diseases that affect wheat (Triticum aestivum) production worldwide. The objective of this study was to determine genotypic variation among Kenyan wheat genotypes against leaf rust at adult plant stage. A set of 144 genotypes were evaluated in a two-season field experiments at Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), Njoro. In the field, genotypes were sown in 12 × 12 partially balanced lattice design. Adult plant infection assessed by Area under Disease Progress Curve ranged from means of 42.00 to 145.00. Mean grain yield ranged from 0.06 to 6.81 tonnes. ha-1. Highly significant (p ≤ 0.001) variations were noted among the seasons, genotypes tested over seasons and the interaction between genotype × season for plant height, a thousand kernel weight (TKW), and harvest index.

[halfwitcoffee]

Leaf Rust

Earlier this week, the INTERNATIONAL COFFEE ORGANIZATION (OR ICO) called an emergency summit on Hemelia vastatrix, the affliction colloquially known as Coffee Leaf Rust.   The symposium, a first for the organization, was an attempt to diagnose the severity of the epidemic presently impacting Central American coffee production and to contrive a strategy for suppressing the spread of the parasitic fungus.   The disease is transmitted by wind, which makes it very difficult to contain existing infections.  Airborne fungal spores enter the leaves of coffee trees through stomata, and germinate when optimal conditions are met.  Recent climatic changes in Central America, and the resultant impact on precipitation and temperature, have provided the fungus with prime circumstances to reach epidemic proportions.   Coffee Leaf Rust gets its name from the “rusty” appearance it gives to affected leaves.  As the infection progresses these leaves are shed, which reduces the overall the photosynthetic potential of the plant and subsequently impacts the amount of energy stored in the plant for future fruit production.  This results in a decrease in coffee cherry yield per plant for up to a year after the leaf rust infiltrates the plant.   According to the ICO, Central America’s ongoing struggle with H. vastatrix will put roughly 437,000 people out of jobs this season alone.  For more information on the economic impact of this debilitating epidemic, click HERE. As solutions become more apparent, we will keep you informed about how you can help farmers and producers whose livelihoods have been threatened by Coffee Leaf Rust.

[fairtrademarkus]

Sonia and her colleagues at COMSA, a Fairtrade cooperative in Honduras, are working hard to combat leaf rust and improve their coffee, support their community, and create the future they want to see. Read how Fairtrade coffee farmers are dealing with a difficult coffee market.

[pritheworld]

Coffee trees in Central and South America are in danger. They have always been vulnerable to a disease called leaf rust, or la roya in Spanish. 

But now a warmer, wetter climate is creating the worst outbreak in a generation.