Mycotoxins and food safety and security in Rwanda: Understanding the biology and epidemiology of maize ear rots for sustainable maize production

Ear rot (ER) in maize caused by Aspergillus flavus, Fusarium graminearum and Fusarium verticillioides pose a serious threat to food safety and security by lowering the yield and the grain quality by mycotoxin contamination.

The recent outbreak of maize ER in Rwanda made it critical to formulate a strategy for sustainable ER control in Rwanda.

The current project aims to generate the crucial scientific knowledge to formulate strategies for improving maize productivity and quality through ensuring ER disease control.

We will use a comprehensive approach combining farmers training and awareness with field survey on ER occurrence, distribution and risk factors conducive for disease development (year 1 and 2).

We will identify genetic factors associated with the virulence determinants in ER pathogens, and ER resistance in maize through population genomics and transcriptomics (year 3 and 4).

Since ER pathogens can co-occur, we will investigate whether pathogen co-infection have synergistic or antagonistic effects on ER development, mycotoxin production and plant disease resistance under normal and abiotic stress conditions.

This project will provide scientific knowledge vital for improving maize productivity and quality through ensuring ER disease control and extension support services to farmers.

The project will be executed through the collaborative efforts of a multi-disciplinary team from Rwanda and Sweden covering all aspects for a successful implementation of the project.