Crop Farmers Face New Disease Pressures as Climate Changes
Published:11 Aug.2021 Source:University of Exeter
Climate change will increase the burden of crop diseases in some parts of the world and reduce it in others, new research suggests.
As the planet warms, the impact of crop diseases is likely to fall in tropical areas including Brazil, sub-Saharan Africa, India and Southeast Asia. At higher latitudes (further from the equator), disease risk will grow -- with Europe and China "particularly vulnerable." The University of Exeter study, published in Nature Climate Change, says these changes will "closely track" variations in crop productivity expected under global warming.