Signal Wheat stem rust found in the UK in 2013 for first time in 60 years

Summary

The report lists wheat, barley, sugar beet, potatoes and oilseed as the UK's top five crops by production volume and explains that their yields are vulnerable to pests. Recently, fungal cereal pathogens that had been eradicated in the UK have reappeared. For example, wheat stem rust was detected in the UK in 2013 for the first time in 60 years. The report expects environmental change linked to climate change to make plant disease outbreaks more frequent and severe and to allow new pests to become established. It also warns that multi-year droughts combined with plant pathogens could cause repeated harvest failures, increasing food insecurity and reliance on imports.