Insights into Wheat Blast: Its Epidemiology, Recent Advances and Management Strategies

The Wheat blast (WB) causing fungus Magnaporthe oryzae pathotype Triticum (MoT) is still a major challenge to researchers, despite its discovery in the 1980s in Brazil. The disease single-handedly compromised the food security of Latin American countries, after wiping out acres of wheat fields in the region in 1990s and early 2000s. The rapidly evolving ability of the fungus, its multitude of alternate hosts, development of fungicidal resistance and its acclimatization into newer geographical niches has converted it into a killer disease. The outbreak of WB in Bangladesh and its subsequent detection in Zambia has questioned the available knowledge on the pathogen, its biology, and management strategies. The dependence of WB on epidemiological factors has aggravated the situation further. The pathogen is air borne, which helps in easy transmission to uninfected areas. Additionally, lacunae in international seed movement policies have aided in tarns-continental transmission of infected seed, as seen in case of Bangladesh. The present review deals with the present status of wheat blast in the infected countries across the globe, and the management strategies employed by them to restrict the disease under the economic threshold. We describe the importance of epidemiological studies in WB management and recent advances made in developing suitable forecasting models against WB. A brief description has also been provided about the ongoing research regarding development of integrated management strategies, including quarantine, cultural practices, resistant sources and fungicidal applications, which would be immensely beneficial in preventing a disease outbreak in the future.