Report: ATSE crawford fund - CIMMYT master class in soil borne pathogens of cereals

Abstract

The course on Soil Borne Pathogens of Cereals was suggested by Dr Julie Nicol, CIMMYT Pathologist, who is based in the CIMMYT Regional office in Turkey. Dr Hans Braun (Head of this regional office) has been well aware of these problems in the region of West Asia, North Africa, Central Asia, India and China for many years and the need to both train scientists and form strong cohesive networks to enable transfer of technical knowledge, breeding material and form research collaborations. This course was focussed on those soil borne pathogens of cereals with special emphasis on wheat. These pathogens are implicated in causing losses to cereals particularly in marginal environments under either rain-fed agriculture or limited irrigation practices. Australia is a leading country in research on these problems and hence three key teaching staff were bought to Turkey from Australia to teach the course. Dr Albert Rivora (Australian Cereal Root Pathologist and Coordinator of the South Australian ATSE Crawford Fund) was a key initiator for this course to occur in the region. The regional experiences and expertise of both Turkish and French staff offered a complementary set of information and exchange for the participants and also the teaching staff.