ICARDA student Abd-Al Rahman Moukahel wins Young Scientist Poster Award

Limassol, Cyprus - 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. 

At the conference, Dr. Kumari herself carried out an oral presentation titled “Epidemiology and management of legume and cereal viruses in Arab and Mediterranean regions”, which showcased which viruses are essential in legume and cereal crops in different countries in Arab and Mediterranean regions, the losses they cause and their economic impacts in relation to control. She then described the main types of control measures available: host resistance, phytosanitary measures, cultural measures, chemical control, and biological control. Examples of successful deployment of the different measures to control virus epidemics in legume and cereal crops were provided. She emphasized the need for integrated approaches to controlling because single control measures used alone rarely suffice to reduce virus-induced yield losses in these crops adequately.