Global warming and increasing maize cultivation demand comprehensive efforts in disease and insect resistance breeding in north‐western Europe

Abstract

Maize productivity is threatened by global climate change. Climate change scenarios suggest that north‐western (NW) Europe will get warmer and drier during the main crop‐growing period. In general, more northerly regions will benefit, whereas more southerly regions will suffer suboptimal rain‐fed farming conditions. In these latter regions in particular, the resulting probable lower realized on‐farm maize grain and biomass yields must be safeguarded. Breeding for resistance against already existing and emerging diseases and insect pests is one component to achieve yield stability across years. Durable multiple‐disease resistance will become especially crucial. Herein, we focus on disease resistance breeding approaches in maize, especially related to northern corn leaf blight and Fusarium ear rots, although virus and bacterial diseases will become more important as well. Continuous adjustments of disease resistance breeding strategies will be required. Insect pest resistance breeding must be improved considerably, as in a warmer world insects will thrive, probably causing detrimental direct (feeding, sucking, etc.) and indirect (vectors of pathogens, feeding wounds creating gateways for many pathogens, passive transport of inoculum across maize plants) effects. Four case studies on insects that are already prevalent in NW Europe or may be expected in the near future are covered in this review. Maize cultivars need to combine both durable multiple‐disease and multiple‐insect resistance, although the implementation of many different effective resistance resources in breeding programmes will be challenging, particularly if trade‐offs among breeding goals appear.

Predicted Aflatoxin B1 Increase in Europe Due to Climate Change: Actions and Reactions at Global Level

“…In fact, advances in modeling the impact of CC were very limited, as detailed in "reactions". This is undoubtedly one of the areas where research needs to be encouraged, together with extension to crops other than maize, as pointed out by Van Der Fels-Klerx, et al [190], as well as other interacting factors, such as insects pests [252]. Furthermore, when evaluating the pressure risk of mycotoxins based on CC, we strongly advise not neglecting a pre-analysis of the suitability of countries/study areas for cultivation and the specific crop for which the current and future impact of mycotoxins must be assessed.…”

Scientific review of the impact of climate change on plant pests

“…Furthermore, acclimatization of mycotoxigenic fungal pathogens to climate-change factors may result in increased disease and perhaps mycotoxin contamination of staple cereals as well as other crops. Thus, managing mycotoxin risks will remain a great challenge in the future (Juroszek and von Tiedemann, 2013b) as climate change could worsen the situation (Miedaner and Juroszek, 2021b).…”

“…This may involve, for instance, the development of more powerful methods to manage pathogens in crop residues, which could be combined with already well-established methods such as crop rotation in order to avoid saprophytic colonization of crop residues by pathogens and to decrease the carry-over of inoculum between cropping seasons (Melloy et al, 2010). "Old-fashioned" methods such as turning the soil can also be a powerful way to manage diseased crop residues (Miedaner and Juroszek, 2021b), although conservation agriculture might be better suited in drought-prone areas. Ploughing the soil also entails more fuel input and hence more climate-relevant CO 2 emissions compared to minimum tillage.…”

Assessing Long-run Dynamics of Financial Hedging, A New Determinants of Green Financing in E7 and G7 Countries

“…For example, a sequence of effects called the 'size impact' reflects how economic activity rises with a rise in government spending. However, this mechanism causes numerous environmental threats, with green economic development gradually dropping (Miedaner & Juroszek, 2021). In the other side, a major transition in the "composition effect" of capital-based industry into human capital-based industries with a rise in public education expenditures may be observed.…”