Yellow Rust and Stem Rust Resistant wheat

Rust-Resistant Wheat for a Flourishing Future

The rust-resistant wheat varieties are specifically developed to combat wheat rust. They are equipped with two types of resistance genes. The first type, All-stage resistance (ASR) genes, provide strong protection from specific rust fungi during all developmental stages of the plant. However, if only a single ASR gene is deployed, the fungi can evolve to overcome this protection. The second type, Adult plant resistance (APR) genes, provide partial resistance during the later development stages of the plant. APRs can confer longer resistance without developing pathogen evolution and can provide broad-spectrum resistance to all rust fungi races. By combining ASR and APR genes, wheat varieties can achieve a more effective and long-lasting resistance against rust.

This technology is TAAT1 validated.

7•7

Scaling readiness: idea maturity 7/9; level of use 7/9

Adults 18 and over: Positive high

The poor: Positive medium

Under 18: Positive low

Women: Positive medium

Climate adaptability: Highly adaptable

Farmer climate change readiness: Significant improvement

Biodiversity: Positive impact on biodiversity

Carbon footprint: A bit less carbon released

Environmental health: Greatly improves environmental health

Soil quality: Improves soil health and fertility

Water use: Much less water used

Problem

Yellow Rust and Stem Rust Epidemics: Yellow rust and stem rust are destructive diseases that cause significant yield losses (50-90%) and can rapidly devastate wheat crops in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Quick Spread of Rust Diseases: These diseases spread rapidly through wind-borne spores, leading to massive losses, as exemplified by the highly virulent African strain of stem rust, Ug99.
Emergence of New Rust Strains: There is a continuous emergence of new strains of rust diseases, making it challenging to control them effectively.
Infections in Native Grasses: Rust diseases can infect native grasses, making it difficult to eradicate them from agricultural landscapes.

Solution

All-Stage Resistance (ASR): These genes provide strong, race-specific protection against rust fungi at all developmental stages of the plant.
Adult Plant Resistance (APR): These genes offer partial resistance during the later stages of the plant’s development. They can confer longer-lasting resistance and provide broad-spectrum protection against all races of rust fungi.
High Yield Potential: Despite the resistance to rust, these varieties maintain a high yield potential, which is crucial for ensuring food security.
Disease Resistance: In addition to rust resistance, these varieties often have resistance to other diseases, enhancing their overall robustness.
Tolerance to Environmental Stresses: These varieties are often bred to be tolerant to various environmental stresses such as drought, further enhancing their resilience.

Key points to design your project

Rust-resistant wheat varieties help mitigate the effects of climate change on wheat production by providing resistance to rust diseases, which are exacerbated by changing climate conditions. This contributes to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including Zero Hunger (SDG 2) by increasing food security, Gender Equality (SDG 5) by empowering women in farming decisions, and Climate Action (SDG 13) by developing crops resilient to climate change.

The adoption of rust-resistant wheat varieties by farmers in a project or program involves several key activities:

Capacity Building: Training farmers and agricultural extension workers on the benefits and management of rust-resistant wheat varieties.
Participatory Variety Selection: Involving farmers, including women who do much of the planting, weeding, and post-harvest use, in trials to select the most suitable rust-resistant varieties.
Seed Multiplication and Distribution: Producing and distributing seeds of the selected rust-resistant varieties to farmers. Partnerships with seed companies and agricultural departments of local governments would be crucial.
Field Demonstrations: Conducting field demonstrations to showcase the performance of the rust-resistant varieties.
Monitoring and Evaluation: Regularly monitoring the adoption and impact of the rust-resistant varieties and making necessary adjustments.
Advocacy: Advocating for policies and practices that support the widespread adoption of rust-resistant varieties.

These activities are not necessarily sequential and may overlap. The exact chronogram would depend on the specific context and resources of the project or program.

4.1 Ton/ha

average grain yield

440 USD

Total farming operational costs

Countries with a green colour: Tested & adopted
Countries with a bright green colour: Adopted
Countries with a yellow colour: Tested

Countries where the technology has been tested and adopted
Country	Tested	Adopted
Ethiopia	Tested	Adopted
Kenya	Tested	Adopted
Mozambique	Tested	Adopted
Somalia	Tested	Adopted
South Africa	Tested	Adopted
Sudan	Tested	Adopted
Tanzania	Tested	Adopted
Uganda	Tested	Adopted
Zambia	Tested	Adopted
Zimbabwe	Tested	Adopted

This technology can be used in the colored agro-ecological zones. Any zones shown in white are not suitable for this technology.

Agro-ecological zones where this technology can be used
AEZ	Subtropic - warm	Subtropic - cool	Tropic - warm	Tropic - cool
Arid
Semiarid
Subhumid	–	–	–	–
Humid	–	–	–	–

Source: HarvestChoice/IFPRI 2009

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that are applicable to this technology.

Goal 2: zero hunger

Goal 13: climate action

Verification and Adaptation Trials:
- Verify and adapt rust-resistant wheat varieties.
- Typically takes about one year for this process.
Accelerated Seed Multiplication in Outbreaks:
- In the case of severe outbreaks, accelerate seed multiplication.
- Conduct field testing of new varieties during main- and off-seasons.
- This allows farmers to access resistant germplasm in less than a year from its release.
Seed Multiplication Process:
- Seed multiplication of rust-resistant wheat consists of 2-4 stages.
- Follow the same procedures as for other cultivars.
Production of Early-Generation Seed:
- Agricultural research centers produce early-generation or basic seed.
Multiplication on Farms:
- Private farms, farmer cooperative unions, farmer seed producer associations, and model farmers receive the basic seed.
- They multiply large volumes of certified seed.
In-Field Techniques for Maintaining Planting Material:
- Farmers maintain stocks of rust-resistant planting material using in-field techniques.
- One method is the ear-to-row technique, where the best-performing ears are selected and replanted in single lines.
Crop Cultivation:
- Rust-resistant wheat varieties are cultivated with the same planting density and mineral fertilizer input as other improved cultivars.
- Follow local recommendations for cultivation.
Fungicide Spraying:
- Fungicide spraying may be required to protect the resistant wheat crop, depending on disease pressure and local conditions.