Climate change impact on plant pathogens and plant diseases

Abstract

A plant disease is the result of interaction between a susceptible host plant, virulent pathogens, and the environment. Human activities (i.e., agronomic practices, fungicide treatments, movement of plant material in the global market, etc.) and the presence of microbial antagonists to the pathogen may also play roles in the development of a disease. Because the environment signicantly (directly or indirectly) inuences plants, pathogens, and their antagonists, changes in environmental conditions are strongly associated with differences in the level of losses caused by a disease, and environmental changes are often implicated in the emergence of new diseases (Anderson et al., 2004). For these reasons, the changes associated with global warming (i.e., increased temperatures, changes in the quantity and pattern of precipitation, increased CO2 and ozone levels, drought, etc.) may affect the incidence and severity of plant disease and inuence the further coevolution of plants.