The project investigates how the changing climate affects the spread and severity of three fungal crop diseases - the wheat stem, leaf and stripe rusts - that can cause significant wheat yield losses globally. Wheat rusts have been listed among the most devastating crop diseases in the world and the emergence of several new hypervirulent races has increased the risk to global food security. The complex life cycles of rust fungi make them especially sensitive to climate change. Our main goal is to characterize when and where the changing climate will increase the risks of crop yield losses from the wheat rusts, as well as the role that changes in land and crop management could play in modulating these losses. This will be accomplished by developing a state-of-the-art model capable of simulating the life cycle of the rust fungi. The project will lead to improved advice on farming practices and crop management strategies to minimize the crop yield losses.

2023

2027