OCCURRENCE, LOSSES AND CONTROL OF IMPORTANT CEREAL AND FOOD LEGUME DISEASES IN WEST ASIA AND NORTH AFRICA 131 O.F. Mamluk*, M.P. Haware*, K.M. Makkouk*, and S.B. Hanounik* ABSTRACT The mandate crops of !CARDA: whea[, barley, chickpea. lentil and faba bean suffer from a wide range of diseases. Important diseases of cereals are septoria blotch, rusts, smuts and barley yellow dwarf virus; in food legumes ascochyta blight, wilt, chocolate spot, bean yellow mosaic virus, bean leai roll virus and nematodes, Some are endemic and others occur epiphytotically. Data on crop losses due to these diseases are rare. Available data on losses caused by smuts, leaf blotch, leaf rust on cereals, ascochyta blight and chocolate spot on food legumes is presented. In addition, results from experimental trials at the Center on crop loss estimates of wheat yellow rust, chickpea blight and three faba bean viruses are discussed. Chemical control measures of the diseases are economically not feasible; chemical seed treatment is effective but not commonly used. Emphasis is on the use of genetic resistance. Reliable screening techniques have been developed to identify resistant material for use in breeding programs. Sources of resistance are derived from cultivars. landraces, wild relatives and progenitors of the mandate crops. Introduction The International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (!CARDA) is one of 13 international research centers governed by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). The Center operates in the region of West Asia and North Africa (WANA) extending from Pakistan in the East to Morocco West and from Turkey in the North to Ethiopia South. Four programs, supported by several units, carry out research on cereals; food legumes; pastures, forage crops and farm management. The Cereal Improvement Program focuses on the development of stable, high-yielding cul ti vars with tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Emphasis in the Food Legume Improvement Program is placed on the development of well-adapted, faba bean, chickpea and lentil cultivars with resistance to chocolate spot. ascochyta blight and wilt, respectively. The Pasture, Forage and Livestock Improvement Program concentrates its activities on the replacement of fallow with pasture and forage crops. The mandate crops ofICARDA, wheat, barley, chickpea, lentil and faba bean suffer from a wide range of diseases. Diseases of these crops are among the major constraints affecting the stability of production in the region. Occurrence and distribution Important diseases of cereal and food legume crops can be classified according to their occurrence as epidemic (epiphytotic) and endemic diseases (Table 1). Yellow rust of wheat (Puccinia striiformes West.), is an important disease in the WANA region and occurs epidemically once in 3-4 years. Leaf rusts (P. recondita Rob. ex Desm; P. hordei Otth.), net blotch (Pyrenophora teres Drechs.), Septoria tritici blotch (Mycosphaerellagraminicola (Fuckel) Sand.) and barley yellow dwarf virus are epidemic diseases of North Africa; however, septoria blotch is * Plant pathologists, The International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARD A), ALEPPO, SYRIA.