Everything we eat either comes directly or indirectly from plants, and the spread of plant diseases and pests that damage our food crops can cost global agriculture $540 billion a year.
Foraging for wild plants and animals was the first strategy we used to sustain ourselves as Homo sapiens, and today, about 85 percent of our calorie intake comes from about 20 different species of plants.
About 2,000 to 9,000 years ago, traditional farmers developed the main plant crops part of our current diet: wheat (Triticum aestivum), rice (Oryza sativa), and maize (Zea mays).
But it’s not just these staple crops that satisfy our hunger – think about all the fruit and vegetables we so easily pluck from our supermarkets or enjoy in restaurants… Guacamole, chocolate, beer and wine - these all start with a plant!
However, increased transport of plant material throughout the world is spreading plant diseases and threatening the health of plants and therefore, compromising our food supply.
Dr Edward Liew is a Senior Research Scientist at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydne and he leads a team of scientists at the PlantClinic who are at the forefront of researching, identifying and controlling thousands of plant diseases.