“In this fast-moving scientific field, timely communication between researchers is vital to uncover and learn from the molecular battles that occur between plants and the pests and parasites that infect them”

Projected global population growth requires food production to increase by 70% before 2050 to meet demand. Pests and diseases are a major constraint to providing this food security: between 30-40% of our crops are lost to pathogens long before they reach our dinner plates. Increasing resistance of pathogens to pesticides and tightening regulations that restrict the use of our remaining chemical control agents have had a cumulative negative effect on food production. Beyond this, climate change is already increasing the spread of harmful pests and pathogens.

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This article was originally posted by The James Hutton Institute