A rapid rise in fungal attacks on crops – exacerbated by climate breakdown – could become a “catastrophe” for the world’s food supply, scientists have warned.
Already the most important threat to crops worldwide, fungal infections are estimated to destroy 10 to 23 per cent of farmers’ annual output, plus a further 10 to 20 per cent post-harvest, spoiling enough wheat, rice, maize, potato and soybean to feed up to 4 billion people 2,000 daily calories for a year.
