Climate Variability and Pathogenesis in Agricultural Crops: A Review - Climate Variability and Fruit Crop Yield: Challenges and Adaptations

Abstract

Climate variability is one of the important problems facing the productivity, health, and security of the food produced in agriculture especially for fruit producing systems. Changes in temperature, rainfall, humidity, drought occurrence, heat waves, and extreme climate events can affect the growth, fruiting, yield and pest and disease susceptibility of plants. Pathogen biology, host physiology, and environment change driven by climate change can lead to fast spread and establishment of plant pathogens. In fruits, heat stress, erratic rainfall, water logging, and droughts can negatively impact on flowering, pollination, fruit setting, fruit growth, quality and post-harvest life. On the other hand, favorable temperature and moisture levels can enhance diseases caused by fungi, bacteria and viruses. The interactions between climate variability, host plants and pathogens are complex and vary depending on the crops and production area. The measures that can be adapted include the use of climate resilient cultivars and rootstock, improved irrigation and water conservation practices, canopy management, proper nutrition, protected cultivation, soil health maintenance, biological control and disease management. Precision agriculture, disease forecasting using weather, remote sensing and digital technologies can also be helpful. This review emphasizes the key impacts of climate variability on the development of crop diseases and fruit yield, focusing on how changes in the environment impact the disease development process, productivity, and fruit quality. Sustainable methods of adaptation and mitigation for ensuring the resilience, productivity, and economic viability of fruit production under the changed climatic conditions have also been explored in the review.