Effect of Climate Change on Plant Parasitic Nematodes of Cereal Crops

Abstract

Cereals are staple foods, mainly cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Climate change, particularly rising temperatures and altered rainfall patterns, is negatively impacting cereal crop productivity and could result in the invasion of pest and pathogen. Plant-parasitic nematodes (PPNs) or herbivorous nematodes are one of the most important destructive pests of cereal crops. Extreme environmental factors have a great impact on plant-parasitic nematode biology and physiology. Above or below optimum environmental condition may aggravate the plant-parasitic nematode (PPN) damage by aiding to abundance, distribution, reproduction, number of generation, and reduced plant defense and ultimately slow down food production. As the food production needs to be increased with increasing population, certain strategies should be undertaken to increase crop yield under adverse climatic condition. The present work overviewed the impact of climate change on plant-parasitic nematodes and its implications to cereals while addressing developing alleviation or adaptation strategies.