End Times and Current Events
March 28, 2024, 06:15:25 am
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
News: "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me." John 5:39 (KJB)
 
  Home Help Search Gallery Staff List Login Register  

Ancient wheat plague threatens world crops anew

Shoutbox
March 27, 2024, 12:55:24 pm Mark says: Shocked Shocked Shocked Shocked  When Hamas spokesman Abu Ubaida began a speech marking the 100th day of the war in Gaza, one confounding yet eye-opening proclamation escaped the headlines. Listing the motives for the Palestinian militant group's Oct. 7 massacre in Israel, he accused Jews of "bringing red cows" to the Holy Land.
December 31, 2022, 10:08:58 am NilsFor1611 says: blessings
August 08, 2018, 02:38:10 am suzytr says: Hello, any good churches in the Sacto, CA area, also looking in Reno NV, thanks in advance and God Bless you Smiley
January 29, 2018, 01:21:57 am Christian40 says: It will be interesting to see what happens this year Israel being 70 years as a modern nation may 14 2018
October 17, 2017, 01:25:20 am Christian40 says: It is good to type Mark is here again!  Smiley
October 16, 2017, 03:28:18 am Christian40 says: anyone else thinking that time is accelerating now? it seems im doing days in shorter time now is time being affected in some way?
September 24, 2017, 10:45:16 pm Psalm 51:17 says: The specific rule pertaining to the national anthem is found on pages A62-63 of the league rulebook. It states: “The National Anthem must be played prior to every NFL game, and all players must be on the sideline for the National Anthem. “During the National Anthem, players on the field and bench area should stand at attention, face the flag, hold helmets in their left hand, and refrain from talking. The home team should ensure that the American flag is in good condition. It should be pointed out to players and coaches that we continue to be judged by the public in this area of respect for the flag and our country. Failure to be on the field by the start of the National Anthem may result in discipline, such as fines, suspensions, and/or the forfeiture of draft choice(s) for violations of the above, including first offenses.”
September 20, 2017, 04:32:32 am Christian40 says: "The most popular Hepatitis B vaccine is nothing short of a witch’s brew including aluminum, formaldehyde, yeast, amino acids, and soy. Aluminum is a known neurotoxin that destroys cellular metabolism and function. Hundreds of studies link to the ravaging effects of aluminum. The other proteins and formaldehyde serve to activate the immune system and open up the blood-brain barrier. This is NOT a good thing."
http://www.naturalnews.com/2017-08-11-new-fda-approved-hepatitis-b-vaccine-found-to-increase-heart-attack-risk-by-700.html
September 19, 2017, 03:59:21 am Christian40 says: bbc international did a video about there street preaching they are good witnesses
September 14, 2017, 08:06:04 am Psalm 51:17 says: bro Mark Hunter on YT has some good, edifying stuff too.
View Shout History
Pages: [1]   Go Down
  Print  
Author Topic: Ancient wheat plague threatens world crops anew  (Read 278 times)
Mark
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Offline Offline

Posts: 21786



View Profile
« on: June 12, 2011, 08:48:07 am »

Ancient wheat plague threatens world crops anew

Diseases that ravage wheat fields are as old as time itself. The ancient Romans even had a legend to explain the terrible plagues.

According to the myth, a mischievous young boy tied a flaming wheat straw to a fox's tail, torturing the animal. This single act angered the Roman god Robigus so much that he unleashed a rust-colored plague on the fields that turned all the crops to black.

"Stem rust, when it goes epidemic, destroys a crop," said Ronnie Coffman, a leading expert on wheat disease and chair of the department of plant breeding and genetics at Cornell University.

"There is nothing left but black stems, zero grain. It is just an absolute devastation," said Coffman.

The last major epidemic of the fungal disease known as stem rust broke out in 1953 but was quelled with the introduction of a resistant strain of plants in the 1970s, an initiative spearheaded by the late Norman Borlaug, the Nobel Peace Prize winner widely known as the father of the Green Revolution.

In 1998, a new wave of the fungus known as Ug99 turned up in Uganda, overcoming crops that were once resistant and wielding the potential to kill as much as 90 percent of the world's wheat.

The disease is now widespread in eastern Africa and threatens to move deep into the Middle East and Asia, where it could devastate farms, cause rising bread prices and unleash political and economic unrest, experts say.

Already, the strain has shown up in Iran and in Yemen, Osama bin Laden's ancestral homeland which has plunged into political turmoil in the past five months amid deadly fighting over the future of the country.

Rising food prices have also been a factor in a series of uprisings across the Arab world, Mexico, Haiti and beyond.
"Yemen is a big problem," said Coffman, who as Borlaug's one-time doctoral student is now carrying on his mentor's lifelong mission to spread strong crops around the world and provide steady food sources to the poor. Borlaug died in 2009.

Whipping winds can transport spores as many as 100 miles (160 kilometers) per day, raising concerns among scientists about where the epidemic could turn up next.

"From Yemen, the wind currents are such that it could be carried to almost any part of the world -- winds blow into south Asia, they blow into central Asia, they blow into Europe even," Coffman told AFP.

From South Africa, winds could send the plague to the southern cone of Latin America or to Australia, both areas that grow tremendous amounts of wheat.

Wheat makes up one-fifth of the world's food and is second only to rice in the diets of people in developing countries.

Kenya is one country that is already grappling with a crisis in wheat production, with small farmers facing a loss of as much as 70 percent of their yield, according to Peter Njau, an expert at the Kenya Agriculture Research Institute.

Large-scale farmers who can afford chemicals to kill the fungus still face rising costs of production, as much as 40 percent higher than in normal years, Njau told AFP.

The price of a bag of wheat has risen by about a third, and spiking fuel costs combined with a recent reduction on import tax for wheat will put a squeeze on local farmers unseen in many years, he said.

"The farmers, when they harvest their crop, they will end up being paid less for their product and that might be a bone of contention between the farmers and the government," he said.

Kenya is working with experts at Cornell University and in Mexico to deliver new strains that may be able to resist the latest wave of stem rust.

Experts from around the world are heading to Minnesota next week to share their latest research, as part of an annual meeting by the Borlaug Global Rust Initiative project begun in 2005.

Some new approaches include attempting to combine multiple resistant genes into a single plant so that it will withstand any mutations that might allow stem rust to take over again, and creating plants that allow some stem rust to infiltrate so that the fungus doesn't mutate into a new super strain.

"Significant progress" has been made, with some new varieties even boosting  yields by up to 15 percent, according to Ravi Singh of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Mexico.

But funding remains a key obstacle, and Singh said world governments must now take steps to replace their wheat crops.
"Scientists can only do so much," Singh said. "We need to see national governments making the investments in seed systems development.

Read more: http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/World/Ancient-wheat-plague-threatens-world-crops-anew-13142.html#ixzz1P4Ma0KJx
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives
Report Spam   Logged

What can you do for Jesus?  Learn what 1 person can accomplish.

The Man from George Street
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkjMvPhLrn8

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter



Pages: [1]   Go Up
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Powered by EzPortal
Bookmark this site! | Upgrade This Forum
Free SMF Hosting - Create your own Forum

Powered by SMF | SMF © 2016, Simple Machines
Privacy Policy