CHENNAI: Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras have analysed the occurrence of fungal crop diseases in India and found that 69 species of fungi have affected 39 types of crops repeatedly in two decades, said a statement from the institution on Tuesday.
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.
The research was led by Sachin S Gunthe, Associate Professor, IIT Madras, in partnership with the Central University of Jammu, and Physical Research Laboratory at Ahmedabad. The work was recently published in the journal Environmental Science and Pollution Research, the statement said.
Sachin Gunthe believes that future increase in temperature and changes in climate will be responsible for changing patterns of fungal phenology.