Effect of global climate changes on plant diseases

• Grant number: 04/01966-7
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: December 01, 2004
• End date: November 30, 2007
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Plant Health
• Principal Investigator: Raquel Ghini
• Grantee: Raquel Ghini
• Host Institution: Embrapa Meio-Ambiente. Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (EMBRAPA). Ministério da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento (Brasil). Jaguariúna , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Climate changes constitute one of the most serious global challenges for humanity. Their adverse effects are now a reality all over the world. Among the alterations predicted, there is unanimity regarding the increase in the concentration of atmospheric carbon gas, which is expected to double by the end of the century, despite efforts to set up international agreements. This environmental alteration could modify the susceptibility of host plants to diseases; the multiplication, the survival and other activities of pathogens; as well as the interaction between host plant and the pathogens. In the Northern hemisphere there is information on the increase of important plant diseases with the increase of atmospheric CO2, given, in general, that 60 per cent of the pathosystems studied displayed increases in the incidence of diseases caused by biotrophic and necrotrophic pathogens. However, in Brazilian conditions there is no information, despite it being indispensable for the understanding of what might occur with some diseases of Brazil’s strategic crops. Thus, the present project has the objective of evaluating the effect of the increase in the concentration of atmospheric CO2 on the monocyclic components of coffee and bean rusts, soybean and rice blast, under open-topped greenhouse conditions. Six open-topped greenhouses will be built with circular aluminum structures, sides covered with transparent plastic film and automated control of the concentration of CO2. In three greenhouses we will inject CO2 until it reaches double the environmental concentration, evaluated in the other three greenhouses. The monocyclic components evaluated will be the period of incubation, the latent period, percentage of foliar area injured, frequency of infection, infectious period and sporulation. (AU)