Challenges in maize production: A review on late wilt disease control strategies

Maize production faces many challenges such as fungal infections causing substantial crop losses, with 10–23% annual losses, despite fungicides use. Late wilt disease (LWD), caused by Magnaporthiopsis maydis, is one of these infections. This review shows that although extensive research has been done on identification and detection of pathogen and control methods to mitigate disease impacts, there are still some key factors poorly known, such as interaction with other pathogens and with secondary hosts, mechanisms triggering infection and influence of climate change on disease spread and severity. The method widely used to control this disease is the use of resistant varieties, which are threatened by the development of virulent fungal strains. Despite the availability of agrochemicals on the market such as azoxystrobin, their application can be expensive and increase fungicide resistance may impair their efficiency. Currently, phytopathologists are working to identify new biocontrol agents in plants and soil, however the use of these agents may not be sufficient, and their application can be challenging. The limited information on the biochemical and physiological mechanisms of infection and on plant biochemical, physiological and nutritional status during and after disease and their sensitive to environmental conditions may contribute to the lack of more effective methodologies of disease control. The application of biocontrol agents alone or in combination with conventional strategies emerges as a sustainable alternative that can efficiently control the disease.