
Study Reveals Climate Change Boosts Banana Disease
May 8, 2019A new study at the University of Exeter reveals that climate change has raised the risk of Black Sigatoka, a fungal disease that ravages banana crops.
The study, which combined experimental data on Black Sigatoka infections over the past 60 years says changes to moisture and temperature conditions have increased the risk of Black Sigatoka by more than 44% in Latin America and the Caribbean since the 1960s.
"Black Sigatoka is caused by a fungus (Pseudocercospora fijiensis) whose life cycle is strongly determined by weather and microclimate," said Dr. Daniel Bebber, of the University of Exeter. He added that climate change has made temperatures better for spore germination and growth, and made crop canopies wetter, raising the risk of Black Sigatoka infection in many banana-growing areas of Latin America.
For more details, read the news article at the University of Exeter website.
The Crop Biotech Update is a weekly newsletter of ISAAA, a not-for-profit organization. The CBU is distributed for free to over 23,000 subscribers worldwide to inform them about the key developments in biosciences, especially in agricultural biotechnology. Your support will help us in our mission to feed the world with knowledge. You can help by donating as little as $10.
-
See more articles:
-
News from Around the World
- Global Team Sequences 429 Chickpea Lines from 45 Countries to Develop High-Yielding, Climate Resilient Crop
- Genome Analysis of African Yam Backs Niger River as Cradle of African Agriculture
- Scientists Release Most Accurate Peanut Genome Sequence to Date
- Researchers Identify Cause of Seed Abortion and Role of RNA Pol IV Enzyme in Seed Development
- New Gene Metrics Increase Precision of Plant Breeding Technology
- Climate Extremes Explain 18%-43% of Global Crop Yield Variations
- Genomes of 480 Wheat Varieties Reveal Evolution, Human Sociocultural History
- Study Reveals Climate Change Boosts Banana Disease
- Healthful Oils from GM Plant as Effective as Fish Oil
-
Research Highlights
- Experts Characterize Cadmium-responsive MiRNAs and their Target Genes in Maize
-
Plant Breeding Innovations
- Study Shows How Nature Makes Solution to Hidden Mutations
- CRISPR-Cas9 Used to Recover Red Pigmentation in Elite Rice Varieties
-
Announcements
- ASEAN-U.S. Science Prize for Women
-
Resources
- Interactive Map Shows Crop Field Trial Sites in Australia
-
Read the latest: - Crop Biotech Update (August 10, 2022)
- Genome Editing Supplement (August 10, 2022)
- Gene Drive Supplement (July 27, 2022)
-
Subscribe to CBU: - Share
- Tweet