Diseases and Management of Crops under Protected Cultivation

(Diseases and Management of Crops under Protected Cultivation)
suppressive to disease–conducive or vice versa (Perkins et al.2011). Therefore Plant diseases
could be used as indicators of climate change (Garrett 2009). There is a wide spread evidence
that seasonal shifts in the current CO 2 concentrations (180-300 ppm) measured from ice core of
650,000 years will exceed to 400 ppm in few years. The increase in Co 2 and other gases already
resulted in an increase in temperature by 0.6-0.7 o C over the last century (Walther et al. 2002)
consequently certain regions are experiencing shorter and warmer winters (Quarles 2007). It is
assumed that by the end of 21 st century the global temperature will increase by + 2 to 4 o C (Milad
et al. 2011). The increase in temperatures will affect the metabolite rates of several crop species
and may make them vulnerable to existing or emerging pathogens and their forms. Also
forecasted increase in extreme weather events such as floods, droughts, wind, rains and hails etc.
will directly or indirectly impact plant health and disease epidemics.Recently Savary et al. (2012)
highlighted theefforts of international phytopathologicalresearchtackling the effects of climate
changes on plant diseases in the developing worldand suggested location and crop-pathogen
specific entry points to address this issue.
Climate Change Research at ICRISAT
Climate change is no longer a ‘myth’ and it needs an interdisciplinary approach to
understand the impacts and to develop mitigation strategy in particular reference to the Semi-Arid
Environments globally and specifically to rainfed dryland farming in India. Climate research has
been a top priority in developed countries like USA, Australia and European countries for several
decades in order to develop strategies to minimize the impact of climate change. This is also an
integral part of the strategic planning of top universities and research institutions in the world. India
being a fast growing economy is emerging as major player in climate research in recent times. The
International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), is a center of
excellence in research on rainfed dryland agriculture, and has a diverse group of researchers
actively pursuing research on effect of climate change on emerging plant diseases and insectpests,
and their effect on crop production. Sustainable crop production is the key issue for food
security and economic growth.
To mitigate the risks of climate change, ICRISAT has developed climate ready-adapted
products/cultivars of its mandate crops. For example, in chickpea it has developed wilt disease
resistant cultivars combining drought tolerance in varieties such as ICCV 96029 [super early (75-
80 days), ICCV 10 extra early (85-90 days), and KAK 2 early (90-95 days). These chickpea
varieties are widely grown in farmers’ fields in drought prone areas. ICRISAT plant pathologists
and entomologist developed protocols to study biology and ecology of insect-pests and pathogens.
They are also studying the host plant × pest × environment interactions, identifying biochemical
responsible for pest resistance, molecular markers for pest resistance, pest variability, biochemical
mechanisms of insect and host interactions, pest forecasting models, etc.
DST-ICRISAT Center of Excellence on Climate Change Research for Plant Protection
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