A new website provides wide-ranging information and maps on stem rust (Ug99), yellow rust and leaf rust.
The Rust-Tracker, a global wheat rust monitoring system, was released at the 2012 Borlaug Global Rust Initiative (BGRI) Technical Workshop in China at the end of August 2012. The scientists of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (Cimmyt) and their partners presented this new instrument in the combat against stem rust (Ug99), yellow rust and leaf rust. With data submitted by farmers and scientists from fields and laboratories, the creators of the Rust-Tracker say they now can monitor an unprecedented 42 million hectares of wheat in 27 developing countries.
Using Rust-Tracker data, scientists are developing "risk maps" that can assist researchers in countries in the path of virulent strains of stem rust and yellow rust to assess the severity of the threat and prepare to resist it. The Rust-Tracker-Website contains numerous data on stem rust, yellow rust and leaf rust and maps indicating their spread. Information is also given on resistant cultivars. The website can be accessed free of charge.
