IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON FUNGAL DISEASE OF CROPS COMMONLY GROWN IN BANGLADESH
Mohammad Monirul Islam: Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute
<div>Crop diseases are remarkable constraints to the production of food for the rapidly expanding population of Bangladesh. Exact crop losses due to diseases yet to estimate in the country. However, world reports reveal that plant disease causes 9 to 16% losses in widely grown food crops. Duration and time of warm weather and rainy season as well as annual number of rainy days and amount of rainfall are being changed remarkably. Reports from other countries clearly show that incidence and severity of plant diseases are directly influenced by the climate changes. Climate change has emerged as the greatest threat facing humankind today. In Bangladesh and some other countries, prolonged drought has significantly affected production of summer crops. Average temperature of Bangladesh varies from 25.62 to 26.14 and relative humidity varies from 79.81 to 80.90% during the period 1950 to 2010. Irregular and fluctuating trend of rainfall is observing in the last 6 decades. Extension of soil salinity is remarkable in the country. Now the Salt affected area of Bangladesh is 30 %, whereas it was 3.5 % in 1973. Ground water level is falling 35.4 feet to 53.8 feet from 2005 to 2009. Analyzing current trends and scenarios based on projected temperature increases, the study warns that Bangladesh is vulnerable yield loss crops due to incidence of pests and diseases. Total number of crop diseases was 316 in 1980’s, 586 in 1990’s, 795 in 2000’s and 1539 in 2010’s.</div>
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