The Borlaug Global Rust Initiative

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Conference Materials now available from the BGRI 2010 Technical Workshop and the 8th International Wheat Conference

Rust in the News

Study unlocks secret behind success of disease-causing microbes
23 July 2010 - SeedQuest
Researchers from Virginia Tech have identified the mechanism several important microbial pathogens use to infect plants and cause devastating diseases. The study, published in the July 23, 2010, issue of Cell, also provides insights into how some microbes cause diseases in humans and animals...

Escalating Threat of Wheat Rusts
23 July 2010 - Science
Last month, nearly 600 scientists from more than 80 countries convened in St. Petersburg, Russia, at the International Wheat Conference to discuss the world's most widely planted crop. This came on the heels of a Borlaug Global Rust Initiative (BGRI) workshop that focused on the rapidly spreading fungal diseases known as wheat rusts, which are causing epidemics that require urgent action. If we are to prevent devastating crop losses, nations must coordinate to enact short-term solutions; they must also expand long-term efforts in research, plant breeding, and surveillance.

Virulent Wheat Disease Threatens Global Food Stocks
21 July 2010 - Suite101.com
Four newly identified strains of the deadly grain fungus, Puccinia graminis were reported this June at a meeting of the Borlaug Global Rust Initiative (BGRI) hosted by Cornell University and held in St. Petersburg, Russia...

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BGRI Photos, Video, Audio

8th International Wheat Conference and BGRI 2010 Technical Workshop

Some 530 scientists from 77 wheat-producing nations gathered for the 8th International Wheat conference (8IWC) from June 1-4, 2010, in the historic city of St. Petersburg, Russia. The IWC is held every five years, the last conference taking place in La Plata, Argentina, in 2005.The famous Vavilov Institute—one of the oldest and most comprehensive collections of germplasm—hosted the conference. “Every major wheat-producing country was represented and there was a strong private sector presence,” said Hans Braun, director, CIMMYT Global Wheat Program. “This really showed that wheat is back on the research agenda.” ...

Stem Rust Scoring Course, Njoro, Kenya, 28 Sept-6 Oct 2009

This course, developed by CIMMYT and KARI-Njoro, was designed to train National Programs' pathologists and breeders score for stem rust infection occurrence in wheat. ...

4th Regional Yellow Rust Conference, Antalya, Turkey, 10-12 October 2009

Conference info and list of participants ...

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The Borlaug Global Rust Initiative

The Borlaug Global Rust Initiative (BGRI), founded by the late Dr. N.E. Borlaug, replaces the Global Rust Initiative (GRI) established as an outcome of the May 2005 Expert Panel report (see Recommendation #10) of race Ug99 in Kenya and Ethiopia and the potential for impact in neighboring regions and beyond.

The BGRI has the overarching objective of systematically reducing the world’s vulnerability to stem, yellow, and leaf rusts of wheat and advocating/facilitating the evolution of a sustainable international system to contain the threat of wheat rusts and continue the enhancements in productivity required to withstand future global threats to wheat.

Nairobi Global Rust Summit, September 2005

With the support and advice of Dr. Borlaug and the Rockefeller Foundation, CIMMYT called for what became known as a Global Rust Summit to be held in Nairobi at a time when stem rust would be abundant in the Njoro nurseries. Seventy-eight participants representing 18 countries and numerous donors assembled for a one day session in Nairobi, with a field visit on the following day.

Communication among the founding organizations led to adoption of a Charter for the BGRI (click here to see the Charter). The Charter calls for an Executive Committee, and a general membership comprised of all organizations wishing to participate.

Contact the BGRI