New Delhi (PTI): The government has formed a special team to monitor summer wheat cultivation to detect any attack of Ug99 rust that has devastated the crops in several countries, though it said the fungus' existence in India has not yet been established.

Though wheat in India is primarily a rabi crop grown during the winter season, some hilly regions in Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Tamil Nadu cultivate during the summer.

The Ug99 rust, originated from Uganda in 1999, has not only spread quickly to several countries but also generated newer variants that can break the resistance of many wheat varieties.

"At present, our priority is on extensive surveys in the target areas to detect the first infection of Ug99 or its variants, if and when it comes, before it acquires alarming proportions," an official statement said.

Already, the Indian Institute of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has started a testing programme of wheat at Njoro in Kenya in 2005 in tie-up with the International Wheat and Maize Research Centre of Mexico.

The tests have shown that many Indian wheat varieties are resistant to Ug99 and its variants. The presence of diverse resistance in some of these varieties will help wheat to fight against Ug99 and other threats, the statement said.

Accordingly, the resistant wheat materials are being multiplied and provided to wheat breeders for further research.

A new version of the popular wheat variety PBW 343, which is reported to possess inbuilt resistance to Ug99, is also being acquired from International Centre for Agricultural Research in Dryland Areas in Syria for its seed multiplication and utilisation in the country.

India is also participating in the Borlaug Global Rust Initiative Programme as its core member to get ready for any serious consequences in case the fungus attacks.

Historically, stem rust has been the most destructive disease of wheat and barley and with a contribution of over 40 per cent to the overall losses in some countries.