GENERAL ARTICLES CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 121, NO. 1, 10 JULY 2021 26 The authors are in the ICAR-National Institute of Biotic Stress Management, Raipur 493 225, India. *For correspondence. (e-mail: moola01@yahoo.com) Emerging and re-emerging biotic stresses of agricultural crops in India and novel tools for their better management J. Kumar*, R. K. Murali-Baskaran, S. K. Jain, P. N. Sivalingam, J. Mallikarjuna, Vinay Kumar, K. C. Sharma, J. Sridhar, P. Mooventhan, A. Dixit and P. K. Ghosh Food security of our country is at risk due to heavy yield losses of agricultural crops caused by pests and diseases known together as biotic stresses. Conventional management practices in vogue are not competent under the current situations obscured by the incitants of biotic stresses which have either enhanced their offensive capabilities due to adaptive mutations or regained their patho- genic/herbivory potential owing to climate change. Numerous causal agents of biotic stresses are also introduced in the country or new regions of the country either through natural dispersal as invasive species, or on account of quarantine irregularities at national or international levels. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to appraise the impact of these new biotic stresses burgeoned in the recent past and to develop novel technologies for their management. To devise an effective preventive and eradicative strategy for containing these biotic stresses, new research innovations need to be practiced such as deciphering basic/molecular mechanism of host-pathogen/insect inte- ractions; endophytic mechanisms of plant protection; nanotechnology in pest management; host resistance strengthening by gene cloning, recombinant DNA technologies, RNA biology, utilizing gene editing technologies such as CRISPR/Cas9, etc. This article presents a comprehensive account of new biotic stresses of agricultural crops built up in the country and also reviews the novel scien- tific inventions made worldwide which can be further employed to devise more efficient methods for alleviating impact of these biotic stresses of food crops in the country. Keywords: Agriculture, biotic stress, crops, food security, management. ANNUAL yield of agricultural crops are lost to the tune of 30–35% in India due to attack of various pests and dis- eases or biotic stresses 1 . Of late, upsurges of several new stresses have also been noted. Several factors are respon- sible for build up of biotic stresses such as shift of sec- ondary causal agents to primary status, injudicious use of pesticides, climate change, resistant pest populations, in- vasive pests, biotype development, human interventions, etc. As an overhaul of this pitfall, there is a necessity to re-look the basic information of biology and ecology of these biotic stresses, molecular basis of their identifica- tion and interaction between causal agents and their hosts, fine tuning of existing mitigation practices and/or formulation of novel ecologically viable management strategies. Build up of biotic stresses in nature is a conti- nuous process, particularly in favourable environments. Environmental aberrations often may cause emergence of new pathogenic races/biotypes. Pathogens and insect pests prevailing with minor status acquire major propor- tion due to enhanced adaptation capabilities owing to mu- tational changes for survival. The agricultural crops are also vulnerable to threats from exotic pests/pathogens/ weeds which may get purposefully or accidentally intro- duced to the country or new areas in the country in addi- tion to natural dispersal. Insect pests and other pathogens of important crops in India built up in the recent times under the influence of climate change, mutational changes for survival, acquired resistance to pesticides, transboun- dary invasions, etc. are shown in Tables 1 and 2. A brief account of these biotic stresses is reviewed below. Insects Emerging insect pests A pest reported from an area on a particular crop showing considerable increase in its population and potential to