July 14, 2016. The Hindu newspaper reports about the threat of wheat blast to India: “Deadly wheat blast is just across the border“. They wrote: “The Asian region produces 135 million tonnes of wheat every year. In Bangladesh, wheat is the second most cultivated crop after rice. India is the second largest producer of wheat in the world with 90 million tonnes (mt).”
July 15, 2016. Emerson Del Ponte posted on Twitter links to talks given earlier in the year by Paritosh Kumar Malaker and Barbara Valent on wheat blast.
July 26-27, 2016. CIMMYT’s Regional Consultation Workshop on Mitigating the Threat of Wheat Blast in Bangladesh and Beyond took place in Kathmandu, Nepal. Pawan Kumar Singh, Head of Wheat Pathology at CIMMYT, reported that the meeting was “very successful and well attended by more than 60 researchers, extension workers, senior administrators, policy makers, and funders from Australia, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Nepal, Pakistan, Paraguay and USA. In-depth information was presented and discussed on various aspects of wheat blast ranging from disease: epidemiology, damage and control, host: sources of resistance, types and genetic basis of resistance and development of resistance cultivars, and pathogen: population dynamics, enhancement of virulence and relationship of wheat blast pathogen and its sister pathotypes. Information presented was very well discussed and gaps in knowledge were identified.” Click here to download the program. Check some of the tweets from the Workshop by @ACIARAustralia, @tofazzalislam, @kai_sonder and @MaricelisAceve1.
August 3, 2016. Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) posted the article “Mitigating Wheat Blast in Bangladesh“.
August 4, 2016. Wheat blast coverage by Bangladesh “Channel i”.
August 29, 2016. Bruce McDonald talked about wheat blast at the Wild Plant Pathogen Systems conference in Finland.
August 30, 2016. A blog post from India: “Wheat blast disease – the new enemy knocking at our doors?”
August 30, 2016. Concerns in Pakistan too with a Brain-Storming Session / Workshop on ‘Vigilance of Wheat Blast’ held at Ayub Agri. Research Institute, Faisalabad.
September 1, 2016. The Daily Star reports on a seminar on wheat blast held at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University (BSMRAU).
