Global food security is a worldwide concern. Food insecurity is a significant threat to poverty and hunger eradication goals. Agriculture is one of the focal points in the global policy agenda. Increases in agricultural productivity through the incorporation of technological advances or expansion of cultivable land areas have been pushed forward. However, production growth has slowed in many parts of the world due to various endemic challenges, such as decreased investment in agricultural research, lack of infrastructure in rural areas, and increasing water scarcity. Climate change adversities in agriculture and food security are increasing. Recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected global food supply chains. Economic and social instability from the pandemic contribute to long-term disturbances. Additionally, conflicts such as war directly affect agriculture by environmental degradation, violence, and breaches of national and international trade agreements. A combination of food security and climate change challenges along with increased conflicts among nations and post-COVID-19 social and economic issues bring bigger and more serious threats to agriculture. This necessitates the strategic design of policies through multifaceted fields regarding food systems. In this comprehensive review, we explore how these three challenging factors, COVID-19, climate change, and conflicts, are interrelated, and how they affect food security. We discuss the impact of these issues on the agricultural sector, plus possible ways of preventing or overcoming such adverse effects.

This short communication reports two bacterial strains (22PA0099 and 22PA0106) of a previously undescribed Burkholderia species causing bulb rot in onion. These strains were recovered from symptomatic onion plants collected from Pennsylvania during the routine scouting of onion fields in 2022. The strains were identified as Burkholderia sp. through 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing with the highest percentage of identity, coverage, and e-value of 98.7%, 98 to 100%, and zero, respectively. In addition, primers targeting the recA gene were used to characterize species. Both strains had the closest hits with B. perseverans and B. gladioli, with 94 to 100% coverage and 92 to 95% identity in the recA gene. The whole genomes of both strains were sequenced using long-read sequencing. Comparisons with available genomes indicated that these strains had the closest identity with B. gladioli, with 92% average nucleotide identity. Furthermore, the two strains shared 97% sequence identity, suggesting they belong to the same species. These percentages indicate that the strains likely represent a novel Burkholderia species not reported previously on onion. A whole onion bulb assay confirmed the two strains’ pathogenicity. The proper identification and monitoring of this pathogen is important to help growers make informed decisions regarding disease diagnosis and management.

Bacterial diseases cause annual onion yield losses of 5 to 40% in Pennsylvania and New York. More comprehensive knowledge of the bacteria present and further characterization of pathogenic bacteria are important for developing effective diagnostic tools and management strategies. This survey aimed to identify the bacteria associated with symptomatic onion leaves and bulbs and evaluate their pathogenicity. From 2020 to 2022, 30 onion fields across Pennsylvania and New York were sampled, and 589 symptomatic plants and bulbs were collected. A total of 1,957 bacterial isolates were recovered from the samples, and 1,165 isolates were characterized to the genus level. Of the 53 bacterial genera identified, Burkholderia (22.1%) and Pantoea (16.8%) were the most prevalent. Additionally, 957 isolates from 43 genera were tested for pathogenicity using the red scale necrosis (RSN) assay. Of these, 264 isolates from eight bacterial genera produced necrosis. A subset of 187 RSN-negative isolates was further tested in foliar and whole onion bulb pathogenicity assays. Of these, 25 were pathogenic in both assays, 15 only in the foliar assay, and 28 only in the bulb assay. This survey revealed that numerous bacterial genera are associated with symptomatic onion leaves and bulbs. However, only about one-third of the bacterial genera tested were pathogenic on onion. Of those genera, about one-third of the isolates were pathogenic in at least one of the three assays. These results indicate that most bacteria associated with symptomatic onion tissues are non-pathogenic, highlighting the importance of accurate diagnosis to design effective disease management strategies.