b'EXTRASNEW INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIP TOEXPORT OF DUTCH AGRICULTURAL GOODS IDENTIFY AND DEVELOP RESISTANCE TOINCREASES TO RECORD VALUEDANGEROUS WHEAT DISEASEThe export of Dutch agricultural goods in 2019 is estimated at The CGIAR Research Program on Wheat (WHEAT), led by the94.5 billion. This is 4.6 per cent more than in 2018 and is the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)all-time highest export value. This is reported by Wageningen and the International Center for Agriculture in the Dry AreasEconomic Research (WUR) and CBS on the basis of collaborative (ICARDA), recently announced a partnership with the Jiangsuresearch commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Academy of Agricultural Sciences (JAAS) in China to open a newand Food Quality (LNV).screening facility for the deadly and fast-spreading fungal wheatThe import of agricultural goods has grown by 3.7 per cent disease Fusarium head blight, or FHB. and is estimated at 64.1 billion for 2019. At 30.5 billion, the The new facility, based near the JAAS headquarters inagricultural trade surplus has exceeded 30 billion for the first Nanjing, aims to capitalize on CIMMYTs collection of dis- time. This is almost 55 per cent of the total Dutch trade surplus.ease-resistant wheat materials and the diversity of the morePrice developments play an important role in the value than 150,000 wheat germplasm in its Wheat Germplasm Bankgrowth of the export. Approximately two-thirds of the export to identify and characterize genetics of sources of resistance togrowth is due to price increases, and about a third is due to FHB and, ultimately, develop new FHB-resistant wheat varietiesvolume increases. For import, price and volume each account that can be sown in vulnerable areas around the world. for about half of the value growth.The participation of JAAS in the global FHB breeding net- At 9.5 billion, floriculture, which includes flowers, plants, work will significantly contribute to the development of eliteflower bulbs, and nursery products, had the highest export value germplasm with good FHB resistance, said Pawan Singh, headamong the agricultural goods in 2019. of wheat pathology for CIMMYT. The export of agricultural goods includes both products of We expect that in five to seven years, promising lines withDutch origin (68.5 billion) and re-export (26 billion). This FHB resistance will be available for deployment by both CIMMYTresulted in an estimated total of 41.9 billion of export earnings and China to vulnerable farmers, thanks to this new station. for the Netherlands; 3.7 per cent more than in 2018 (40.4 billion).Fusarium head blight is one of the most dangerous wheatThe export of products of Dutch origin accounts for 92 per diseases. It can cause up to 50 per cent yield loss and producecent of the total export earnings, re-export accounts for 8 per cent.severe mycotoxin contamination in food and feed, which affectsSource: Wageningen Universityfarmers in the form of increased health care and veterinary care costs, and reduced livestock production.Even consuming low to moderate amounts of FusariumSTUDY FINDS RISING OZONE A HIDDEN THREAT mycotoxins may impair intestinal health, immune function andTO CORNfitness. Deoxynivalenol (DON), a mycotoxin the fungus inducing FHB produces, has been linked to symptoms including nausea,Like atmospheric methane and carbon dioxide, ground-level vomiting, and diarrhea. In livestock, Fusarium mycotoxin con- ozone is on the rise. But ozone, a noxious chemical byproduct sumption exacerbates infections with parasites, bacteria andof fossil fuel combustion, has received relatively little attention virusessuch as occidiosis in poultry, salmonellosis in pigsas a potential threat to corn agriculture.and mice, colibacillosis in pigs, necrotic enteritis in poultry andA new study begins to address this lapse by exposing a swine respiratory disease. genetically diverse group of corn plants in the field to future In China, the worlds largest wheat producer, Fusarium headozone levels. The study, reported in the journal Global Change blight is the most important biotic constraint to production. Biology, found that some members of the corn family tree are The disease is extending quickly beyond its traditionallymore susceptible than others to yield losses under high ozone vulnerable wheat growing areas in East Asia, North America,air pollution. Discovering the genetic underpinnings of those the southern cone of South America, Europe and South Africadifferences could help plant scientists develop ozone-resistantpartly as a result of global warming, and partly due to other- corn, the researchers said.wise beneficial, soil-conserving farming practices such as wheat- Ozone enters plants the same way carbon dioxide does: It maize rotation and reduced tillage. diffuses from the atmosphere into the leaf, said Lisa Ainsworth, Through CIMMYTs connections with national agricul- a U.S. Department of Agriculture scientist who led the research tural research systems in developing countries, we can createwith University of Illinois plant biology professor Andrew a global impact for JAAS research, reaching the countriesLeakey; University of Florida molecular genetics and microbi-that are expected to be affected by the expansion of FHB epi- ology professor Lauren McIntyre; and University of California, demic areas, said Xu Zhang, head of Triticeae crops researchDavis plant sciences professor Patrick Brown. The researchers group at the Institute of Food Crops of the Jiangsu Academy ofused the Free Air Concentration Enrichment facility at the Agricultural Sciences. University of Illinois to track the real-world consequences of The new collaborative effort will target Fusarium headhigher atmospheric ozone levels in an agricultural field. They blight research but could potentially expand to research onplanted 45 hybrid corn plants representing all the major types other wheat diseases as well. Wheat blast, for example, is a dev- of cornpopcorn, sweet corn, dent, flint and othersto look for astating disease that spread from South America to Bangladeshvariation in their responses to high ozone levels. They found that in 2016. Considering the geographical closeness of Bangladeshsome hybrids were more sensitive to ozone stress than others. and China, a collaboration with CIMMYT, as one of the leadingMore genetic analysis and more experiments like those institutes working on wheat blast, could have a strong impact. conducted at the FACE facility will be needed to determine Source: CIMMYT how todays plants will respond to future conditions, Leakey said. Source: University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences48IEUROPEAN SEEDIEUROPEAN-SEED.COM'