Mitigating the twin problems of malnutrition and wheat blast by one wheat variety, ‘BARI Gom 33’, in Bangladesh

Abstract

For the first time in history outside of Latin America, deadly wheat blast caused by the fungus <em>Magnaporthe oryzae</em> pathotype <em>triticum</em> (MoT) emerged in the 2015–2016 wheat (<em>Triticum aestivum</em> L.) season of Bangladesh. Bangladesh, a country in South Asia, has a population of nearly 160 million, of which 24.3% are classified as poor. Consequently, malnutrition and micronutrient deficiency are highly prevalent, particularly among school going children and lactating women. Bangladesh Wheat and Maize Research Institute (BWMRI), with the technical support of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Mexico, has developed and released a new wheat ‘BARI Gom 33’. The new wheat is a zinc-enriched (Zn) biofortified wheat, resistant to the deadly wheat blast disease. ‘BARI Gom 33’ provides 5–8% more yield than the check varieties in Bangladesh. Rapid dissemination of it in Bangladesh, therefore, can not only combat wheat blast but also mitigate the problem of Zn deficiency and ensure income for resource-poor wheat farmers. Importantly, a large portion of the current wheat area in India and Pakistan is vulnerable to wheat blast, due to the similarities of the agro-climatic conditions of Bangladesh. As wheat blast is mainly a seed-borne disease, a rapid scaling out of the new wheat in Bangladesh can reduce the probability of MoT intrusion in India and Pakistan, and thereby generate positive externalities to the food security of more than 1 billion people in South Asia. This study explains the development process of ‘BARI Gom 33’; the status of malnutrition in Bangladesh, and the possible economic gain from a rapid scaling out of ‘BARI Gom 33’ in Bangladesh. A few policies are recommended based on the discussions.

Genome-wide association mapping for wheat blast resistance in CIMMYT’s international screening nurseries evaluated in Bolivia and Bangladesh

“…While ‘Milan’ was the original source of the 2NS translocation in the CIMMYT germplasm, it has increased in frequency through ‘Milan’ derived lines like Mutus (MILAN/S87230/4/BOW/NAC//VEE/3/BJY/COC) and Kachu (KAUZ//ALTAR 84/AOS/3/MILAN/KAUZ/4/VEE/KOEL) that were used also widely as parents. The presence of the 2NS translocation in a large number of recent IBWSNs and SAWSNs is promising for short-term blast management and blast resistant varieties like ‘BARI Gom 33′ with the 2NS translocation have been released 58 . However, the reliance on only one resistance locus with a large effect is not recommended as it leads to selection pressure on the MoT populations 4 , 59 and there are reports that the MoT isolates in Brazil 21 and Paraguay 60 have overcome the 2NS resistance.…”

Wheat Blast: A Disease Spreading by Intercontinental Jumps and Its Management Strategies

“…However, the translocation exhibited different phenotypic effects across wheat lines, signifying the role of genetic background in its expression (Cruz et al, 2016;He et al, 2020aHe et al, , 2021. "BARI Gom33, " a zinc bio-fortified blast-resistant wheat variety released in Bangladesh in 2017 is a success story of utilizing the 2AS/2NS translocation in breeding (Hossain et al, 2019). However, too much dependency on this translocation in the form of large acreages in South Asia and South America is making it vulnerable against new MoT isolates because of strong directional selection.…”

Determining an effective and economic fungicide spray schedule for reducing blast of wheat

“…Wheat blast appeared with fears in Bangladesh in 2016, had been fearsome to Brazil and Bolivia since 1985. The production loss is 100% if spikes were infected at heading stage (Hossain et al, 2019). Management of wheat blast is, therefore, a must.…”

“…The highest yield losses happen when head infections start during anthesis or early grain development stages. At present, most of the commercially grown wheat cultivars in South Asia are susceptible to wheat blast, BARI Gom 33 released as blast resistant variety is in farmer's field (Hossain et al, 2019). The level of yield losses and speed of epidemics caused by MoT along with the lack of resistance may require innovative approaches to manage this disease.…”