Development of Improved Strategies for the Control
of Faba Bean Necrotic Yellows Virus (FBNYV)
in Food Legume Crops of West Asia and North Africa

Faba bean is one of the major legume crops as a source of protein in human nutrition and animal feeding. Furthermore, it plays a key role in the biological nitrogen fixation process.

The goal of this project is to contribute to sustainable agriculture production in areas of the West Asia and North Africa (WANA) countries, where faba bean necrotic yellows virus (FBNYV) has been causing severe crop losses in faba bean and other legume crops, through appropriate use of conventional control measures, resistant genotypes and transgenic plants.

OBJECTIVES

•  Study the epidemulogy of FBNYV under field conditions in Egypt.

•  Understanding the effects of the factors involved in FBNYV survival and spread under field conditions based on epidemiological studies.

•  Development of screening methods to determine the resistance levels in bean germplasm.

•  Development of diagnostic tools for FBNYV.

•  Characterization of the FBNYV genome.

•  Production of transgenic faba bean germplasm resistant to FBNYV.

ACHIEVEMENTS

•  Conduct epidemiological studies for obtaining a better understanding of the factors involved in FBNYV spread.

•  Development of diagnostic ELISA kits for virus indexing.

•  Optimization of the regeneration system in Vicia faba.