Norman Borlaug and Wheat Stem Rust

Posted on January 16, 2008  Comments (1)

By increasing the production of wheat it is said Norman Borlaug has saved more lives than anyone else who ever lived. John Pollock provides a new look at his work in Green Revolutionary:

stem rust, a fungus whose airborne spores infect stems and leaves, shriveling grains.

Many thought the work that earned ­Borlaug his Nobel brought an end to stem rust, but it is back, in the form of a variant called Ug99, which emerged in Uganda and spread to Kenya and Ethiopia. “If it continues unchecked,” says Borlaug, “the consequences will be ruinous.”

Related: Five Scientists Who Made the Modern WorldMore Nutritious Wheat2004 Presidential Medal of Science WinnersDeadly wheat disease ‘a threat to world food security’

One Response to “Norman Borlaug and Wheat Stem Rust”

  1. CuriousCat: Wheat Rust Research
    April 27th, 2008 @ 9:16 am

    “Today, wheat provides about 20 percent of the food calories for the world’s people. The world wheat harvest now stands at about 600 million metric tons. In the last decade, global wheat production has not kept pace with rising population…”

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