BHEARD scholar attends global wheat rust workshop
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EmailThe BGRI Workshop 2018 was held in Marrakech, Morocco. Wheat scientists from all over the world gathered to discuss cutting-edge research.
The Borlaug Global Rust Initiative (BGRI) is an international consortium of more than 1,000 scientists from hundreds of institutions who work together to reduce global vulnerability to stem, yellow and leaf rusts of wheat. BGRI continues to advance Dr. Norman Borlaug’s vision of a more secure wheat crop worldwide by fostering long-term scientific collaborations that outlive specific funding or project metrics, and by continuing to raise awareness and funds for much-needed cereal crop research.
The BGRI Workshop 2018 was held in Marrakech, Morocco, April 14-17. Wheat scientists from all over the world gathered together to discuss cutting-edge research being conducted by different partners of BGRI. The focus was on scientists’ efforts to secure the world’s wheat crop and to manage disease vulnerability. ICARDA (International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas), Morocco administered the workshop.
Mohammad Farhad, a scholar studying for a Ph.D. in biotechnology at the TERI School of Advanced Studies in India, attended the workshop on behalf of the Borlaug Higher Education for Agricultural Research and Development (BHEARD) program.
Prior to the BGRI workshop, Farhad participated in a training program about wheat breeding technology on April 13-14. The program taught him about genomic selection for crop improvement and speed breeding to reduce the breeding cycle of wheat. The session also covered topics like physiological breeding and global wheat breeding, which enriched his outlook of the latest wheat-breeding technologies.
The workshop started April 14 with a speech from Dr. Ronnie Coffman, vice chair of BGRI, and Jeannie Borlaug Laube, chair of BGRI. After that, the Norman E. Borlaug Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Dr. Mahmoud Solh, director general emeritus of ICARDA, for his continuous efforts to save the crop germplasm stored in ICARDA’s Syria center. The Gene Stewardship Award was presented to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research for its work improving India’s food security.
The poster session started in the afternoon of April 14 and continued until April 17. Farhad presented a poster session titled, “Wheat disease surveillance and monitoring in Bangladesh.” His poster was shortlisted for a mini-presentation for audience discussion.
Workshop sessions were presented by scientists and research graduates from organizations and universities around the world. The sessions covered topics such as host resistance, pathogen biology, physiology and abiotic stresses, breeding for genetic gain, epidemiology/surveillance, seed multiplication, and alternate hosts.
There was a session discussing gender issues named, “Does gender matter in wheat breeding?” Scientists from CIMMYT, Mexico, KALRO, Kenya, and ICARDA, Turkey, discussed female activity in wheat breeding. To inspire female scientists in wheat breeding, BGRI organized a Women in Triticum award, which gives opportunities to female scientists to explore the latest wheat research at CIMMYT, Mexico, and to participate in the BGRI workshop. This year, four female scientists received the award from Jeanie Borlaug Laube.
The workshop included a visit to ICARDA’s Tessaout Research Station, to learn about the field activities of ICARDA in Morocco. The workshop closed with remarks by Emma Quilligan, Cornell University, and Dr. Ronnie Coffman, the first Ph.D. student of Dr. Borlaug.
