What is 'Wheat Blast Epidemic'

• Presently wheat crop is under threat of a major pandemic, which can threaten the food security at the global level. 

• This danger is of Wheat Blast Pandemic.

 • This disease is spread in three continents South America,  has spread to Asia and Africa 

• Scientists warn it could spread worldwide 

• Scientists analyzed over 500 samples of the fungus to understand the origin of the pathogen

• Wheat blast: 

• It is an infectious disease spread by fungus

 • The name of this fungus is- Magnaporthe oryzae 

•Pathogen in this disease affects the crop 

• It infects wild and cultivated grasses  especially rice and wheat

• Researchers first detected the pathogen Manaporthe oryzae in wheat crops in the South American country of Brazil in the 1980s

 • Asia's first infection was reported in Bangladesh in 2016 and Africa in 2018 

• Disease severity  It can be inferred from the fact that crops are burnt to avoid the disease

 • According to experts, it is a very serious disease and a threat to wheat cultivation in some of the poorest parts of the world