Emerging Rubber Disease and Potential Factors Contributing

Hevea brasiliensis or rubber tree has been one of the most indispensable commodity crops since World War I. The necessity for latex in the production of various human essentials has continued till to date. The recent pandemic has again boosted the prerequisite of latex for the production of gloves and other medical items. Therefore, a sustainable yield from rubber trees to cater the expanding demand is crucial. However, newly emerging plant diseases have been hampering our plantation crops that results in decreased yield. Discovery of new plant diseases may require disease symptom characterization, identification of the causal pathogen, disease mechanism and factors that have contributed to the disease incidences to determine the curative and preventive measures. Herein, we present the most recent findings on a newly emerging rubber disease designated as new leaf spot disease caused by fungal pathogen/s. In addition, a summary on the potential factors that may have been contributing to emerging plant diseases as whole is included.