Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
Wheat blast has made the intercontinental jump to Africa
Nutrition, health and food securityResearchers in Zambia confirm the arrival of this devastating fungal disease to the African continent.
What is wheat blast?
Nutrition, health and food securityWheat blast is one of the most fearsome and intractable wheat diseases in recent decades. It spreads through infected seeds, crop residues as well as by spores that can travel long distances in the air, posing a major threat to wheat production in tropical areas.
How a disease without borders was contained
Nutrition, health and food securityExperts reflect on the successful efforts to limit the spread of maize lethal necrosis across eastern and southern Africa.
Identifying and Developing Improved Tropical Maize Germplasm with Native Resistance to Fall Armyworm in Sub-Saharan Africa
Nutrition, health and food securityStudy reveals diversity “blueprint” to help maize crops adapt to changing climates
Climate adaptation and mitigationScientists unlock evolutionary secrets of landraces through a study of allelic diversity, revealing more about the genetic basis of flowering time and how maize adapts to variable environments.