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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

Launch of the Africa office of the IIDE

2006-05-25

Attending the launch of the Africa office of the IIDE were from the left Prof Sytse Strijbos (Chairperson of IIDE Europe), Rev Kiepie Jaftha (Chairperson of the IIDE in Africa’s Board of Directors and Chief Director: Community Service at the UFS) and Prof Frederick Fourie (Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS).

Attending the launch were from the left Prof Lucius Botes (Director: Centre of Development Support at the UFS), Dr Samuel Kareithi (Head: Community Development at the Cornerstone Christian College, Cape Town), Rev Kiepie Jaftha (Chairperson of the IIDE in Africa’s Board of Directors and Chief Director: Community Service at the UFS), Prof Sytse Strijbos (Chairperson of IIDE Europe) and Dr Ezekiel Moraka (Vice-Rector: Student Affairs at the UFS).

Africa office of IIDE launched on UFS main campus

The Africa office of the International Institute for Development and Ethics (IIDE) was today (26 May 2006) launched on the Main Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS) in Bloemfontein.

“The IIDE specialises in the studying and research of general questions of developmental theory and practices and provides services and support in education, strategic planning, policy formulation, advocacy and capacity building of development agencies,” said Rev Kiepie Jaftha, Chairperson of the IIDE in Africa’s Board of Directors and Chief Director: Community Service at the UFS.

According to Rev Jaftha the IIDE in Africa will focus on the conceptual and normative aspects of developmental processes in Sub-Saharan Africa. “We want to foster local and international partnerships with various relevant role-players in civil society, the private sector and public sector in the SACD region and later expand our operations to the rest of Africa,” said Rev Jaftha.

The IIDE in Africa cooperates with a similar foundation in Europe, functioning as the IIDE Europe. This institute was founded in 2003 and its head office is situated in the Netherlands. The UFS is a funder of the IIDE in Africa together with the Paul Foundation and private sponsors from the Netherlands.

“We have already started with various projects which are in various stages of implementation,” said Rev Jaftha. Some of these projects include, among others, the broadening of the master’s degree in Christian Studies of Science and Society (MACSSS) which is currently housed at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam to tertiary institutions in South Africa such as the UFS, the University of Stellenbosch and the Potchefstroom Campus of the Northwest University.

“Another project is an investigation into the possibility of initiating a broad development initiative in the poverty stricken Qwaqwa area. This initiative will attempt to concentrate on issues like the training and empowerment of prospective entrepreneurs in the region, the identification of prospective entrepreneurs for the rendering of development support and the monitoring of the impact of information and communication technology on local communities during the implementation of sustainable development initiatives,” said Rev Jaftha.

“The establishment of the Africa office of the IIDE on the UFS Main Campus is an indication of one of the aims of the UFS to play a role in South Africa and Africa. It also signifies our aim to contribute meaningfully to research and development and to establish links between the academe and practice,” said Rev Jaftha.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
26 May 2006

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