ICARDA is proud to announce that a scientific poster developed by Mr. Abd-Al Rahman Moukahel Research Assistant at ICARDA Seed Health Laboratory in Lebanon was selected for the Young Scientist Poster Award during the Mediterranean Phytopathological Union (MPU 2022) in April. The MPU 2022 meeting promotes the dissemination of the latest scientific advances and encourages dialogue and collaboration between researchers interested in all aspects of Phytopathology – the scientific study of diseases in plants.
Mr. Moukahel’s poster titled “characterization and distribution of Pseudomonas syringae pv. syrinae on wheat in Syria” illustrates the occurrence and distribution of an important bacterial wheat leaf disease in wheat fields in Syria. Diseases caused by this pathogen have been reported to reduce annual wheat production by about 10% and up to 40% in severe infections occurring early in the growing period. Wheat (Triticum spp.) is a major staple food for human consumption in Syria and the Middle East. Climate change models predict more frequent and prolonged drought events in the world, which will put extraordinary pressure on the distribution and importance of wheat diseases.
![Roughly the length of a finger, the insects fly together by the millions and devour crops. [Tiksa Negeri/Reuters]](https://storage.googleapis.com/cgiarorg/2024/04/Tiksa-Negeri-Reuters-640x428.png)