Trends in fungicide resistance in the Indo-Gangetic Plain

Host-pathogen interactions under the right environmental factors result in development of diseases. Around 13 million fungi have been estimated, of which only 0.14 million fungal species have been identified so far. According to a 2021 study, India had been reported to host 29 000 of described fungal species, amounting to around 33% of global fungal biodiversity. Approximately 30000 plant-infecting fungi have been reported worldwide, out of which around 5000–7000 species might have occurred on both various wild and domesticated plants in India (Manoharachary and Deshaboina, 2021). A statistical estimate suggests that plant diseases have increased 7–10 times during the last two decades. Further increases in relative humidity, along with the rise in temperature, are known to enhance the number of disease instances, particularly in tropics (García-Guzmán and Heil, 2014).