The International Cereal Cyst Nematode Initiative (ICCNI) was formed in 2006 to create a critical mass of scientific capacity and skills to deliver sustainable solutions by working at both the applied and theoretical level. Cereal Cyst Nematode (CCN) Heterodera spp. is acknowledged as a global economic problem on wheat production systems, both in many regions of the developed world (Europe, USA and Australia) and also in developing countries. Within the framework of the ICWIP (ICARDA CIMMYT Wheat Improvement Program) which relates to wheat improvement research in Central Asia, West Asia and North Africa, CIMMYT and the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with our National Program partners from developing countries and several Advanced Research Institutions in Australia and Europe have undertaken research over the last 8 years to:

1. Understand the importance and distribution of the Nematode (CCN) which appears very widespread throughout West Asia, North Africa, parts of Central Asia, Northern India and China in their wheat production systems.

2. Investigate potential control options with a major emphasis on host resistance – both gene discovery, validation and integration of resistant sources (traditional and molecular) into wheat germplasm for global wheat production systems (particularly focused on rainfed or supplementary irrigation systems). Rotation has been partially explored.

3. Train and capacity build national program scientists from developing countries.

As CCN is a global problem of significant economic importance ICWIP and Turkey are hoping to raise the profile of and consolidate the research efforts to date with this International Workshop – the first in a series – that will:

• Highlight the importance of CCN in various countries/regions
• Provide present status of the collaborative efforts to address the disease
• Investigate the future prospects for International collaboration

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