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Plant Sciences graduate contributes technique to manage stem rust

08 October 2020 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Supplied

Dr Cornel Bender received her PhD qualification at the virtual graduation ceremonies in October. The title of her thesis is: Stem rust resistance in South African wheat and triticale.

The rapid distribution of disease-causing organisms such as Ug99, a wheat stem-rust pathotype, pointed out just how vulnerable global cereal production is to disease outbreaks.

These cereals include wheat, barley, rye, oats, triticale, rice, maize, and millet and are one of the most important food sources for human consumption.

According to Dr Cornel Bender, the projected world population of 10 billion in 2057 requires a growth of more than 40% in cereal production. Wheat is grown on more hectares than any other cereal and is one of the most important sources of calories for humans. However, the growth rate of wheat yields has declined from the 1960s to the 1990s. Therefore, it is essential to increase global wheat production.

“With the regular appearance of more aggressive stem rust pathotypes in South Africa, there is a constant need to discover new sources of resistance, understand the genetic base of presently deployed sources in wheat, triticale and barley cultivars, and to manipulate the deployment of resistant sources through a more sustainable approach,” says Dr Bender.

Her PhD thesis, titled: Stem rust resistance in South African wheat and triticale, includes various fundamental aspects for the effective management of stem rust in South Africa.

Dr Bender is a Professional Officer in the Division of Plant Pathology in the Department of Plant Sciences, who received her PhD at the virtual graduation ceremonies in October.

Innovative and cost effective

Her promotors, Prof Zakkie Pretorius, Research Fellow, and Dr Willem Boshoff, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Plant Sciences, believe that she used an innovative approach to develop a cost-effective phenotyping method to select for more durable resistance types in a controlled greenhouse environment.

“In the past, results obtained from field trials used to assess adult plants for stem-rust resistance, were often influenced by abiotic factors, were seasonable in nature, expensive, and time consuming; therefore, the development of a dependable greenhouse screening system provides an important additional instrument for rust research,” says Dr Bender.

She adds that the greenhouse technique is used worldwide to screen for adult plant resistance and contribute to save time and money.

Broadening our knowledge

“Inheritance studies were undertaken to determine the genetic base of stem-rust resistance in selected South African wheat and triticale cultivars (developed from wheat/rye crosses) through seedling analysis as well as greenhouse and fieldwork,” she says.

Dr Bender believes the use and development of different resistance screening methods, the elucidation of host genetics, as well as the use of histological and microscopic methods to study early resistance responses, broaden our knowledge and understanding of stem-rust resistance in South African wheat and triticale cultivars.

Ultimately, rust researchers, grain producers, and also the general public – through access to their daily bread – will benefit from her study.

News Archive

UFS helps to renovate schools

2005-10-10

Photo gallery

About 250 hostel students of the University of the Free State's (UFS) main campus yesterday painted and renovated four schools in the black townships of Bloemfontein. This was part of Kovsie Rag's new approach to be more directly involved with communities.

Students were transported with busses and performed tasks such as the painting of class rooms and outside walls and the cleaning and painting of gutters and window panes. The painting was judged by a panel of judges, that included the Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Frederick Fourie. These points will contribute to the each hostel's final point in the Rag fund raising campaign for 2005/2006.

Some of the students who painted the gutters of Maboloka Primary School in Bochabelo were from the left Ms Tume Kowang (18) (first year student in B Accounting from NJ van der Merwe hostel); Ms Gloria Mangwane (19) (third year student in B Sc Biochemy from NJ van der Merwe hostel); Ms Adri Ras (21) (second year student in Occupational Therapy from Emily Hobhouse hostel) and Ms Malandi Els (20) (third year student in B Exercise and Feeding from Emily Hobhouse hostel).

See attached media statement:

UFS Rag and Eimpa paints assist with upgrading of schools

The spirit of Ubuntu will this year be truly reflected in the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Rag community out reach programme when senior students from the 23 hostels on the Main Campus will visit four less-privileged schools in the Mangaung area on Saturday 8 October 2005 to assist these schools in the upgrading of facilities.

The same day (Saturday 8 October 2005) the UFS first year students will visit the neighbourhoods in Bloemfontein from 08:00-13:00 to raise funds on an Ubuntu donation lists for Rag 2005/2006.

The Ubuntu project was started about seven years ago and it has grown each year. In the past the project was associated with a fundraising leg and a hostel publicity leg. This year the aim is to involve the community to demonstrate how important fundraising initiatives are to help those less-privileged.

The schools that will be visited are Legae Intermediary School in Batho, Mothusi Primary School in Rocklands, and the Maboloka and Lesedi Primary Schools in Bochabelo. The schools in the Manugaung area had until 31 August 2005 to complete a questionnaire identifying what assistance is needed. The Rag office, with the help of professional consultants from Eimpa Paints, chose four schools and visited each one to determine material/s needed to complete the work.

Eimpa Paints is a partner of the Ubuntu project and will be sponsoring all paint necessary to complete the work at the schools. All other material/s needed will be supplied by the UFS Rag office.

The hostels are divided into project teams and will clean and paint gutters and window sills and paint the walls of classrooms and outside walls. At Maboloka School for instance, a project team will also to paint a wall with colourful characters.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
7 October 2005

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