An unusually destructive strain of stem rust fungus may devastate Sicilian wheat crops this year, according to warnings from epidemiologists at the University of Cambridge. The fungus decimated tens-of-thousands of hectares of crops in Sicily in 2016. Cambridge Professor Chris Gilligan led a team which found that stem rust spores from the European outbreak may have drifted to other parts of the Mediterranean. Tests by the Global Rust Reference Center have also revealed that the fungus can now infect dozens of lab-grown strains of wheat.
An unusually destructive strain of stem rust fungus may devastate European wheat crops this year, according to warnings from epidemiologists at the University of Cambridge. The fungus decimated tens-of-thousands of hectares of crops in Sicily in 2016. Cambridge Professor Chris Gilligan led a team which found that stem rust spores from the Sicilian outbreak may have drifted to other parts of the Mediterranean. Tests by the Global Rust Reference Center have also revealed that the fungus can now infect dozens of lab-grown strains of wheat.