Human-driven changes in the earth’s atmospheric composition are likely to alter plant diseases of the future. Researchers predict carbon dioxide will reach levels double those of the preindustrial era by the year 2050, complicating agriculture’s need to produce enough food for a rapidly growing population.
Septoria brown spot
University of Illinois researchers are studying the impact of elevated carbon dioxide, elevated ozone and higher atmospheric temperatures on plant diseases that could challenge crops in these changing conditions.
Darin Eastburn, U of I associate professor of crop sciences, evaluated the effects of elevated carbon dioxide and ozone on three economically important soybean diseases under natural field conditions at the soybean-free air-concentrating enrichment (SoyFACE) facility in Urbana.
The diseases downy mildew, Septoria brown spot, and sudden death syndrome were observed from 2005 to 2007 using visual surveys and digital image analysis. While changes in atmospheric composition altered disease expression, the responses of the three pathosystems varied considerably, Eastburn said.
Elevated carbon dioxide levels are more likely to have a direct effect on plant diseases through changes to the plant hosts rather than the plant pathogens.
Dr. Darin Eastburn
“In some cases, changes of only a few degrees have allowed plant diseases to become established earlier in the season, resulting in more severe disease epidemics,” Eastburn said. “The ranges of some diseases are expanding as rising temperatures are allowing pathogens to overwinter in regions that were previously too cold for them.”
“Information derived from climate change studies will help us prepare for the changes ahead by knowing which diseases are most likely to become more problematic,” he said. “Now is the time for plant pathologists, plant breeders, agronomists and horticulturalists to adapt disease management strategies to the changing environment.”
Eastburn will share his latest research on global climate change and the implications for future plant disease epidemics at the 2010 U of I Agronomy Day on Thursday, Aug. 19. For more information on Agronomy Day, go to http://agronomyday.cropsci.illinois.edu/.
This very interesting article on the adaptation of plant host vs. plant disease can been read here: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-06/uoic-ccc062410.php
Public release date: 24-Jun-2010
Contact: Jennifer Shike
217-244-0888
University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences
Source: EurekaAlert!
Photo credits: University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences
