CHAPTER 13: Blast Diseases: Evolution and Challenges of a Staple Food Crop Fungal Pathogen
Barbara Valent, P. K. Singh, Xinyao He, Mark Farman, Yukio Tosa, Hans J. Braun
Abstract
Blast diseases of rice and millet continue to affect small-holder famers in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Wheat blast is an emerging disease that has reached epidemic status in a limited number of regions so far, but its impact on wheat production is already enormous and long lasting. The changing climate, along with the high evolutionary potential of blast diseases, underscores the continuing danger of new diseases emerging and calls for an understanding of the genetic and environmental factors that cause them.
Topics & Concepts
Staple foodCropBlast diseaseGeographyFood securityBiologyAgricultureEcologyBiochemistryGeneWheat and Barley Genetics and PathologyMycotoxins in Agriculture and FoodPlant Pathogens and Fungal Diseases