IIT Madras researchers show how air-borne fungus affect crop health and ecosystem in India – India Today

IIT Madras researchers have analysed the occurrence of fungal crop diseases in India over the past twenty years using a large set of data and have shown interesting trends.

While there appears to be no well-defined relationship between the fungal species and the type of crop affected, the analysis shows that certain species seem to consistently affect specific types of crops.

It has also been observed that around 69 species of fungi have affected 39 types of crops repeatedly in two decades. For example, Puccinia striiformis affected the wheat crop more than twelve times in the last 20 years.

Most fungal attacks of crops happen in January

Another interesting observation by IIT Madras researchers was that most fungal attacks on crops seem to occur during January.

Researchers attribute this to three factors:

• Rabi crops are full grown in January, which makes them susceptible to fungal attacks
• Mixing of surface air with upper boundary layer air results in the increase in bioaerosol concentration
• Relatively higher atmospheric humidity during the winter months

Fungal crop diseases also seem to increase with increasing temperatures, but this warrants further studies.

What is new about this study by IIT Madras?

Microorganisms, often spread as suspended particles in the air, are called bioaerosols or aerobes.

While diseases and ecosystem damages caused by aerosol-borne bacteria and viruses are widely studied, the effect of aerosolised fungal spread on human and ecosystem health is less understood.

The researchers at IIT Madras studied the spread of fungi as aerosols and resultant crop diseases in India.

Who carried out the IIT Madras research?

The research was led by Dr. Sachin S Gunthe, Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Madras, in partnership with the Central University of Jammu at Samba, and Physical Research Laboratory at Ahmedabad.

The team’s work has recently been published in a paper in peer-reviewed journal Environmental Science and Pollution Research.

It was co-authored by Shweta Yadav, Navin Gettu, Basudev Swain, Kiran Kumari and Narendra Ojha, along with Dr. Sachin Gunthe.

@iitmadras Researchers have analysed the occurrence of fungal crop diseases in India over the past twenty years using a large set of data and have shown interesting trends and compiled a dataset of 4,000+ records of fungal-related alerts. #IITMResearch @HRDMinistry @PIBHRD pic.twitter.com/I0lPw4M9Th

— IIT Madras (@iitmadras) April 13, 2020

The Irish potato famine and how we shouldn’t forget fungal pathogens

Speaking about this research, Dr. Sachin S Gunthe, Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Madras, said, “Not all air-borne fungi cause diseases and eco-damage but fungal pathogens are just as prevalent and serious as bacteria and virus.”

In fact, the threat to plant species by fungal aerobes is not a new phenomenon. In the past, it has resulted in the Irish potato famine that led to starvation, economic ruin and the downfall of English government in the 19th century.

Periodic fungal epidemics across lifeforms are being reported all over the world, with lasting impacts on health, economy and ecology.

How IIT Madras conducted the study on air-borne pathogens

Stressing on the importance of understanding the origin and spread of Emerging Fungal Diseases (EFD) in India, Dr. Sachin Gunthe added, “Air-borne fungi such as Magnaporthe oryzae affect the rice paddy and Puccinia graminis affects wheat, which could have serious implications for an agrarian-based country such as India.”

Towards understanding the spread of Emerging Fungal Diseases in India from the viewpoint of agriculture and crop health, Dr. Sachin Gunthe’s team analysed the changes in the pattern of fungal disease alerts for crops across India, which was recorded by the ProMED monitoring program, a community-based online reporting system.

The researchers culled data from media reports, official reports, online summaries, and local observers between 1998 and 2018.

In the process, they compiled a dataset of more than 4,000 records of fungal-related alerts.

Analyses of the compiled data show disturbing trends: “Based on the date of the alerts against crop affected, species of fungi reported, concerned states, and economic implications, we see that fungi pose a serious threat to the agricultural output in the country,” said Dr. Sachin Gunthe.

How climate change in future can increase the damage of fungal species on crops

Dr. Sachin Gunthe believes that future increase in temperature and changes key climate variables, including extreme weather events, be responsible for changing patterns of fungal phenology, which would, in turn, result in damaging interaction between fungal species and crops.

Beyond structured agriculture, such a threat is likely to extend to sensitive and fragile ecosystems like the Himalayan region and the Western Ghats in India, that house rare and important plant species.

How this research by IIT Madras opens up pathways to find out more about bioaerosols

Dr. Sachin Gunthe’s assessment and implication of fungal bioaerosols on ecosystem open up a unique opportunity for researchers cutting across various fields including atmospheric science, meteorology, microbiology, and agricultural science to collaborate and devise the effective roadmap based on the knowledge about the type and diversity of the fungal bioaerosols over the Indian regions.

Such collaboration would foster public and political awareness and formulation of effective policy decisions to protect agriculture and the natural ecosystem of our country.

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