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Rust diseases remain a serious threat to food crops in South Africa

07 August 2025 | Story Martinette Brits | Photo Stephen Collett

Prof Willem Boshoff shares insights from decades of rust disease research during his inaugural lecture at the University of the Free State.

Rust diseases of food crops remain one of agriculture’s most enduring and evolving challenges. In his inaugural lecture on 23 July 2025 at the University of the Free State (UFS), Prof Willem Boshoff shared how these complex pathogens continue to pose a significant threat to South Africa’s staple crops – and why continued research is more critical than ever.

Titled Battling rust diseases of food crops in South Africa, the lecture reflected on decades of rust research and recent developments in pathogen virulence. Prof Boshoff, from the Department of Plant Sciences, emphasised that the threat posed by rust fungi today stems from their “mechanisms of variability, their ease of long-distance spore dispersal, and subsequent foreign race incursions”.

A shifting disease landscape

Rust fungi are biotrophic organisms that cannot be cultured on artificial growth media. This makes rust research a technically demanding field that requires living pathogen collections, seed sources, skilled researchers, and specialised infrastructure. Prof Boshoff noted that for more than 35 years, the UFS has been at the forefront of this work, monitoring rust pathogens on wheat, barley, oats, maize, and sunflower.

While wheat remains the most extensively studied type, recent rust outbreaks across a range of crops point to a worrying trend. A localised outbreak of stem rust on spring wheat in the Western Cape has been linked to race BFGSF, which carries a previously unknown combination of virulence genes affecting both wheat and triticale. In 2021, leaf rust race CNPSK was detected, showing virulence to the highly effective Lr9 resistance gene.

More recently, stripe rust race 142E30A+ – first reported in Zimbabwe – was found in wheat cultivars from the Free State and northern irrigation areas. “Results revealed increased susceptibility of especially spring irrigation wheat cultivars,” Prof Boshoff explained, particularly due to its virulence to the Yr9 and Yr27 resistance genes.

Rust pathogens affecting other crops are also evolving. In maize, only a few lines with mostly stacked resistance gene combinations were effective against all tested isolates. In sunflower, just four of 30 Agricultural Research Council national trial hybrids showed resistance to local rust races.

Building better resistance

A key strategy in rust control lies in identifying and understanding resistance in host plants. This, Prof Boshoff stressed, requires optimised phenotyping systems for both greenhouse and field conditions, along with a solid understanding of available resistance sources. At the UFS, several recent studies have contributed valuable data to both local and international plant breeding programmes.

“Continued local and regional rust research is critical,” he said. “It supports early detection of new races, alerts to producers through updated cultivar responses, and enables efficient breeding strategies and other sustainable methods of rust management.”

The rust programme at the UFS has not only supported varietal release and on-farm risk management, but also strengthened collaboration between plant scientists, industry partners, and international researchers. With South Africa’s strategic location and history of rust surveillance, the programme continues to play a pivotal role in continental and global food security efforts.

About Prof Willem Boshoff

Prof Willem Boshoff is a plant pathologist with a strong background in wheat breeding and rust disease control. He holds four degrees from the University of the Free State, all awarded cum laude: a BScAgric (1994), BScAgric Honours (1995), MScAgric (1997), and PhDAgric (2001). His doctoral research focused on the control of foliar rusts in wheat.

Between 2001 and 2016, he worked as a wheat breeder and contributed to the release of several commercial cultivars. He joined the UFS Department of Plant Sciences in 2017 and has since been actively involved in national and international research projects, capacity development, and advancing disease resistance in food crops.

News Archive

UFS changes format of graduation ceremony

2011-04-17

The highest number of qualifications in the history of the University of the Free State (UFS) will be awarded at the autumn diploma and graduation ceremony from 9-11 May 2011, which will be held in the Callie Human Centre on our Main Campus in Bloemfontein.

From this year, the format of the ceremony will change to make it more visible to students and the public. For the first time, all the doctoral and master’s degrees from each respective faculty will be conferred during one ceremony on 11 May 2011, instead of each faculty handling these qualifications individually. Another change in the format is that the procession will gather on the Red Square in front of the Main Building and move to the Callie Human Centre from there. Both academic staff and graduands will partake in the procession.

A total of 3 674 qualifications will be conferred during this year’s graduation ceremony, including 629 diplomas, 2 613 Bachelors and honours degrees, 372 master’s degrees and 58 doctorates.

An honorary doctorate in Drama and Theatre Arts will also be awarded to theatre stalwart Mr Pieter Fourie. He is one of the most acclaimed Afrikaans playwrights in South Africa and probably the only person to have left his mark as an actor, director, artistic director and writer.

Mr Fourie was awarded the Gerhard Beukes prize for drama , was honoured for his contribution to the arts by the South African Academy for Science and Arts and was appointed as trustee of the Arts and Culture Trust of the State President in 1997. He has also served as a committee member of the South African Academy for Science and Arts.

Mr. Fourie has also been the proud recipient of the Hertzog prize for drama, two FNB-Vita awards and a Fleur Du Cap award.

The full programme for the respective ceremonies is as follows:

Monday, 9 May 2011:

At 08:30, certificates and diplomas, excluding PGED and PGES, will be awarded to graduates from the Faculty of Education and at 12:00 PGED, PGED and B and honours degrees will be awarded to students from the same faculty. At 15:30 on the same day, certificates and B and honours degrees will be awarded to students in the Faculty of the Humanities.

At 19:00, the Faculties of Education, the Humanities and Economic and Management Sciences will have their prize-giving ceremonies for outstanding achievers.

Tuesday, 10 May 2011:

At 08:30, students in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences will graduate and at and 12:00 the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Science will join them. This includes students in BML, B.Admin., B.Pub. and related honours degrees. At 15:30, 503 students from the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences will receive their certificates, diplomas and B and honours degrees.

At 19:00, the Faculties of Health Sciences, Natural and Agriculture Sciences, Law and Theology will have their prize-giving ceremonies.

Wednesday, 11 May 2011:

The Faculty of Health Sciences, the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Theology will be awarding their certificates, diplomas and B and honours degrees at 08:30. At 12:00, all faculties will award a total of 372 master’s degrees and at 15:30 a total of 58 doctorates will be conferred.

The Chancellor’s Dinner will take place in the Centenary Complex on the Main Campus of the UFS at 19:00.

The graduation ceremony of our Qwaqwa Campus will take place in the Rolihlahla Mandela Hall on the Qwaqwa Campus on 7 May 2011 at 10:00. All the faculties at this campus will confer their degrees, certificates and diplomas at this ceremony.

Media Release
21 April 2011
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Director: Strategic Communication
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: news@ufs.ac.za

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