Wheat blast research: Status and imperatives

Wheat blast is relatively a new disease of wheat that first appeared in Brazil in 1985. It did spread to some other neighbouring countries in the following years and owing to its predisposing factors, was feared to be capable of moving across continental boundaries. The disease has now been reported from Bangladesh. Wheat blast at best can be described as poorly understood as both pathogen and its pathogenicity as well as host and its ability to resist need to be investigated before breeders could confidently field varieties with sufficient levels of genetic resistance. In the meantime, chemical protectants and management strategies need to be worked out to tackle this menace that has already been impoertant in rice. Key words: Wheat, blast, Magnaporthe, disease, research.