Responses of Insect Pests and Plant Diseases to Changing and Variable Climate: A Review

Abstract

Natural and anthropogenic factors have resulted in altered environmental conditions that influence changes in abundance and diversity of insect pests. Global climate change projections focus on crop yields and adaptation strategies to declining yields and ignore the likely impact of a changing climate on insect pests and plant diseases. In this research paper, we review the effects of climate variables namely temperature, carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), precipitation and extreme weather events on insect pests and plant diseases incidence. Elevated temperatures, CO 2 and extreme weather events have been shown to alter the distribution, reproductive potential, the incidence and abundance of plant insects and diseases in temperate regions because of the dependence of insects and diseases on environmental conditions. There is limited information on the influence of temperature and carbon dioxide as well as their interaction on the incidence and severity of insect pests, bacterial and viral diseases in the tropical regions. Information on the influence of altered precipitation patterns is also limited but could be of importance in insect distribution studies in a changing climate. Some tropical insects pests are most likely to suffer from extreme heat, resulting in death and hence pest extinction. Future research should focus on the interaction of elevated temperature and CO 2 , determine the influence of supra optimal summer temperatures, temperature variability, precipitation variability and the corresponding viral and bacterial diseases.

Grapevine abiotic stress assessment and search for sustainable adaptation strategies in Mediterranean-like climates. A review

“…Several bioclimatic indices have been proposed for estimating the risk of moisture-induced diseases, which showed that areas displaying a Mediterranean-like climate would tendentiously present low risks of contamination, particularly in southern Europe (Fraga et al 2013;Calonnec et al 2017). While drier environments may lead to higher insect and viral outbreaks, wet periods are expected to trigger cryptogamic and bacterial diseases, which can indirectly disturb population dynamics of insect pests (Katsaruware-Chapoto et al 2017). In fact, current research suggests that mildews remains the Fig.…”

“…Moreover, existing pests are likely to expand, as well as invasion by new insect pests as a consequence of the foreseen increased frequency of extreme weather events, temperature, carbon dioxide levels, and changes in moisture conditions (Jaworski and Hilszczański 2013). However, an accurate quantification of the potential impact of climate change on biotic stresses represents an important challenge, since pest and host responses to environmental shifts are highly variable and complex (Katsaruware-Chapoto et al 2017).…”

Accumulation of Urban Insect Pests in China: 50 Years’ Observations on Camphor Tree (Cinnamomum camphora)

“…Natural and anthropogenic factors have resulted in altered environmental conditions that influence changes in abundance and diversity of insect pests [22], which then possibly affect the intensity and frequency of pest outbreaks on host plants [23]. The C. camphora-hosted insect pest outbreak dataset that was compiled are multi-proxy datasets of pest complexes on camphor trees.…”

Comparative Study of Vegetable Biodiversity in Terai and Hilly Belts of Chitwan, Nepal

“…Most of the respondents showed low disease in OP crops in hills (56) and terai (26) than in hybrids (6 and 9 in hills and terai, respectively). In terai, plants are more susceptible to insect pests due to high temperatures, high rainfall, high humidity, and saturated field conditions, which create favorable conditions for the infestation (Katsaruware et al, 2017).…”