A new greenhouse opened at the Central Field Crop Research Institute in Ankara, Turkey, honoring Senior Pathologist Lutfi Cetin for his contribution to wheat pathology research. The new, state-of-the-art greenhouse allows independent work on yellow, leaf, and stem rust throughout the year. The greenhouse has three sections—one for each of the rusts studied—and can maintain its temperature throughout winter frosts and hot summers. Its construction was supported by the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock of Turkey, FAO, and IFAD.
The pathogen collected in June of this year has been already multiplied in the greenhouse. The pathology group of the Central Field Crop Research Institute represents one of the few labs in the region dealing with rust at all stages and plays important role in research, breeding, and training. A half-day workshop was held on 27 August 2013 at the institute to recognize Mr. Cetin’s contributions.
Mr. Cetin started his wheat carrier more than 30 years ago and has been closely associated with the International Winter Wheat Improvement Program (Turkey-CIMMYT-ICARDA) in developing yellow rust resistant germplasm for the past 20 years. In the mid-1990s, when the cooperative work started, the frequency of yellow rust resistant entries did not exceed 20 to 30%. The pathology screening field with artificial inoculation was established in Haymana near Ankara with reliable and heavy infection by yellow and other rusts. This work later developed into broader rust pathology research including monitoring, pathotype identification, and screening in the seedling stage. The pathology group now annually evaluates 6,000 to 8,000 lines and populations from IWWIP in the field and around 1,000 in the seedling stage.
Capacity development 