Climate Change and Rainfed Agriculture on the National Symposium

Abstract

Weather-host-pathogen interactions over time have been a cause of concern as they hinder the efforts to ensure food security especially in developing and under-developed nations. Climate variability and climate change add a new dimension to this existing problem of managing crop diseases by altering the equilibrium of host-pathogen interactions resulting in either increased epidemic outbreaks or new pathogens emerging as threats or hither to less known pathogens causing sever yield losses. Detailed research is lacking in this domain to develop adaptation and mitigation strategies for sustained food security. Preliminary findings suggest that crops and pathogens respond differentially to altered weather patterns coupled with GHG emissions. These interactions could be either positive or negative. In this paper, an attempt has been made to assess the impacts of climate change on rainfed crop diseases and efforts needed for developing adaptation strategies.