Basem published some of his previous research on chickpea Ascochyta blight!

Check out Basem’s new paper, published in Arab Journal Of Plant Protection: Genetic diversity and mating type distribution of Ascochyta rabiei populations affecting chickpea

This paper is an outcome of Basem’s previous work with the International Center for Agricultural Research in The Dry Areas (ICARDA) in Lebanon. The paper investigates the genetic diversity and mating type distribution of Ascochyta rabiei, the causative agent of chickpea Ascochyta blight. Chickpea varieties from Syria, Lebanon, Türkiye and Uzbekistan were used for phylogenetic analyses, and four distinct groups were identified, with samples from Uzbekistan distributed across all four. The samples demonstrate the high genetic diversity of Ascochyta rabiei. This work can help chickpea breeding programmes and management by identifying potential resistant varieties.

Great work, Basem!