Impact of Climate Change on Plant Viral Diseases

Abstract

Climate change refers to a change in the state of the climate that can be identified (e.g. using statistical tests) by changes in the mean and/or the variability of its properties and that persists for an extended period, typically decades or longer. Atmospheric CO₂ levels are currently about 410 ppm and elevated CO₂ (eCO₂) levels are forecasted to rise up to 650 ppm by the year 2100. The global surface temperature increases by the end of the twenty-first century and is likely to exceed 1.5 °C. Climate change is likely to modify many critical virus epidemic components in different ways often resulting in epidemic, but sometimes may have the opposite effect, depending on the pathosystem and circumstances. Increasing global temperatures and elevated atmospheric CO₂ levels and the occurrence of water stress episodes driven by climate change have a dramatic effect on plant viral diseases, which alters the plant biochemistry and plant defence responses. It has a major impact on the diverse type of vector biology, feeding behaviour and fecundity, ultimately results in the transmission of plant virus diseases and the ease by which previously unknown viruses can emerge and leads to severe yield losses in many cultivated crops. Climate change is likely to diminish the effectiveness of some control measures of plant viral diseases. Fortunately, rapid advancing technological innovations currently underway in the world have the potential to provide many opportunities to improve the effectiveness of virus and vector control and they help to mitigate the impact of climate change on plant virus epidemics.