idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Nachrichten, Termine, Experten

Grafik: idw-Logo
Grafik: idw-Logo

idw - Informationsdienst
Wissenschaft

Science Video Project
idw-Abo

idw-News App:

AppStore

Google Play Store



Instanz:
Teilen: 
16.07.2025 08:37

The costs of fungicide resistance

Martin Brandstätter Presse- und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit
Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg

    A new mathematical model shows how the costs for farmers change when their plants develop fungicide resistance. It was developed by an international research team.

    Fungicides are plant protection products that kill fungi or their spores. In agriculture, these products are used to combat fungal diseases and ensure crop yields. The disadvantage: if used excessively, resistant pathogens can develop and even infect neighbouring fields.

    An international research team has developed a mathematical model that can be used to calculate the economic and often hidden costs of fungicide resistance. Chaitanya Gokhale, Professor of Theoretical Evolutionary Biology at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU), was one of the researchers involved. The results have been published in the journal PLOS Sustainability and Transformation.

    For the calculations, the researchers used a model that can be used to calculate the spread of fungal diseases in several fields. The team combined this with analysis methods from economics.

    Creating a mathematical framework

    “Our results show that the economic costs of fungicide resistance are not so easy to determine,” says the JMU professor. The study showed that yields can increase or decrease depending on the context. The highest costs of resistance are generated by pathogens with a medium invasiveness - i.e. a medium ability to spread into new areas.

    "We observed that while intuitively the total economic costs increase with more resistance and more yield loss, they actually decrease with expensive fungicides," says Gokhale. The team was also able to identify several biological factors that influence the costs. On the one hand, the degree of resistance within a pathogen population is important. Secondly, the basic reproduction number of a pathogen is also decisive. In addition, it depends on how much field yield is lost due to a fungal infection.

    “Our study provides the mathematical framework with which political decision-makers and stakeholders from the agricultural sector can work,” says the evolutionary biologist. On this basis, effective measures for the sustainable use of fungicides can be designed. This in turn could help to secure crop yields, reduce the unnecessary use of chemicals and ensure long-term food security.

    As this is a theoretical model, the appeal to researchers is clear: “Future data collection and empirical studies will help test our findings in the field,” says Gokhale.

    An international cooperation

    In addition to the JMU researcher, the following were involved in carrying out the study: Dr. Alexey Mikaberidze, University of Reading (England), Dr. Maria Bargués-Ribera, University of Cambridge (England), and Dr. Prateek Verma, University of Berkeley (California, USA).


    Wissenschaftliche Ansprechpartner:

    Prof. Dr. Chaitanya Gokhale, Professorship for Theoretical Biology, Center for Computational Biology and Theoretical Biology (CCTB), T: +49 931 31-84126, chaitanya.gokhale@uni-wuerzburg.de


    Originalpublikation:

    The cost of fungicide resistance evolution in multi-field plant epidemics. Alexey Mikaberidze, Chaitanya Gokhale, Maria Bargués-Ribera, Prateek Verma. PLOS Sustainability and Transformation, 27. June 2025, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pstr.0000178


    Bilder

    Merkmale dieser Pressemitteilung:
    Journalisten, jedermann
    Biologie, Umwelt / Ökologie, Wirtschaft
    überregional
    Forschungsergebnisse, Wissenschaftliche Publikationen
    Englisch


     

    Hilfe

    Die Suche / Erweiterte Suche im idw-Archiv
    Verknüpfungen

    Sie können Suchbegriffe mit und, oder und / oder nicht verknüpfen, z. B. Philo nicht logie.

    Klammern

    Verknüpfungen können Sie mit Klammern voneinander trennen, z. B. (Philo nicht logie) oder (Psycho und logie).

    Wortgruppen

    Zusammenhängende Worte werden als Wortgruppe gesucht, wenn Sie sie in Anführungsstriche setzen, z. B. „Bundesrepublik Deutschland“.

    Auswahlkriterien

    Die Erweiterte Suche können Sie auch nutzen, ohne Suchbegriffe einzugeben. Sie orientiert sich dann an den Kriterien, die Sie ausgewählt haben (z. B. nach dem Land oder dem Sachgebiet).

    Haben Sie in einer Kategorie kein Kriterium ausgewählt, wird die gesamte Kategorie durchsucht (z.B. alle Sachgebiete oder alle Länder).