Phytopathological Disease Diagnostics Market Overview
Phytopathological Disease Diagnostics Market reached US$ 123 million in 2023 and is expected to reach US$ 188 million by 2031, growing with a CAGR of 6% during the forecast period 2024-2031.
Plant pathology, also known as phytopathology is the study of identifying and treating plant diseases. It includes all infectious agents that attack plants and abiotic disorders but includes insects, mammals, and other animals.
Phytopathological Disease Diagnostics Market Dynamics
Drivers
Recent advances in molecular diagnostics of fungal plant pathogens are expected to drive market growth during the forecast period.
Phytopathogenic fungal species can cause enormous losses in quantity and quality of crop yields, and this is a major economic issue in the global agricultural sector. Precise and rapid detection and identification of plant infecting fungi are essential to facilitate effective disease management. Molecular techniques used in plant disease diagnostics must be more reliable, faster, and easier than conventional methods. DNA-based methods have become popular methods for accurate plant disease diagnostics.
Moreover, recent developments in standard and variant polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays including nested, multiplex, quantitative, bio and magnetic-capture hybridization PCR techniques, post and isothermal amplification methods, DNA and RNA based probe development, and next-generation sequencing provide novel tools in molecular diagnostics in fungal detection and differentiation fields. These molecular-based detection techniques effectively detect symptomatic and asymptomatic diseases of both culturable and unculturable fungal pathogens insole and co-infections. Even though the molecular diagnostic approaches have expanded substantially in the recent past, there is a long way to go in developing and applying molecular diagnostics in plant diseases.
Restraints:
Lack of skilled personnel, limited knowledge about plant health, Agriculture companies' reluctance to pay the upfront costs of phytopathological disease diagnoses are some of the factors the market is expected to hamper the market in the forecast period.
COVID-19 Impact Analysis
The pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus showed an impact on phytopathological disease diagnostics. The current global response to COVID-19 provided new insight into improving plant problem detection, diagnostics, management, and communication through global surveillance systems. Remarkably, the National Plant Diagnostic Network (NPDN) system continued to operate seamlessly in spring and summer 2020, during the unprecedented covid-19 disruptions, demonstrating the flexible nature of the network as sample capacity is coordinated at the national level to accommodate laboratory closures, shipping changes and other covid related disruptions. Moreover, the retail impact of funnel and filter system from January 1, 2019, to November 1, 2020, is conservatively at 11350 plant samples collected by inspectors and funnelled to NPDN laboratories, where each sample represents a block of at least three plants in a nursery with a retail value of $30/plant, for a total retail value of US$1,021, 500. The estimated retail value for the plants cleared for commerce is US$990855 (97%).
Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold, and medical device companies find it difficult to make informed decisions about their products, supply chains, and regulatory obligations amid uncertainty. Medical device professionals have the unenviable task of asking for a pause amid the panic. The pandemic is not likely to have long-term effects on end-users primary growth in the phytopathological disease diagnostics market.
Phytopathological Disease Diagnostics Market Segmentation Analysis
The PCR-based assays segment is expected to hold the largest market share in the phytopathological disease diagnostics market.
The PCR-based assay segment accounted for the largest market share in 2020. The growth of the segment is due to the increasing prevalence of plant diseases, coupled with the increased availability of genetic and genomic information, is on the rise, and it has led to the rapid incorporation of PCR techniques in clinical laboratories, high specificity, sensitivity, and low sample requirement are some of the factors which are expected to boost the market in the forecast period. For instance, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, it is estimated that annually between 20 to 40 per cent of global crop production is lost to pests. Each year, plant diseases cost the global economy around $220 billion and invasive insects around US$70 billion. Correct diagnosis is necessary to catalyze rapid actions to manage the pests. PCR-based technologies can significantly reduce the time needed for diagnosis compared to conventional culture methods; they still require further work, whereas conventional PCR is not suited for quantitative analysis of plant pathogens. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) is a versatile advanced technology that enables distinguishing the target pathogen simply, quickly, economically, and reproducibly. It can also separate between two closely related organisms.
Moreover, qPCR can be utilized to measure the pathogen load in a sample. The use of probes with different fluorescent dyes allows the detection of several target pathogen DNAs in a single reaction (multiplex-PCR). The method is also used to improve biosecurity and to detect seed-borne pathogens and phytopathogenic bacteria. Additionally, using real-time PCR to collect epidemiological data can drive a more immeasurable understanding of seed-borne diseases. A real-time PCR assay has been developed to identify and quantify the genus Diaporthe including D. logically, D. phaseolorum var. meridionalis, D. caulivora, and D. phaseolorum var. sojae from soybean seeds. This assay was recently applied by Kontz et al. for direct quantification of D. caulivora and D. longicolla in infected soybean plants and to quantify resistance in soybean germplasm to these two pathogens. Therefore, use in diagnostics to test seeds for pathogens, the multiplex is highly desirable since one sample can be tested for different pathogens in a single reaction. It saves both time and cost.
Phytopathological Disease Diagnostics Market Geographical Analysis
North America region holds the largest market share in the global phytopathological disease diagnostics market
In 2020, North America accounted for the highest revenue share in the global phytopathological disease diagnostics market. The increasing prevalence of phytopathological disorders, the high acceptance rate of novel assay technologies, rising new trade rules and technologies to detect pests, sophisticated diagnostic laboratories in the region are expected to boost the market over the forecast period. Digital farming, for instance, is a novel agricultural philosophy aimed at maximizing crop productivity while minimizing environmental effects. Digital farming requires the development of technologies that can work in the field and provide data on plant health. Raman spectroscopy (RS) is a new analytical technology used to diagnose pathogens and nutrient deficiencies in plants in a non-invasive, non-destructive, and accurate manner. RS is also capable of probing the nutritional content of grains and highly accurate identification of plant species and their varieties. It allows for Raman-based phenotyping and digital selection of plants. These pieces of evidence suggest that RS can be used for chemical-free surveillance of plant health directly in the field. The high selectivity and specificity of this technique show that RS may transform agriculture in the US.
Phytopathological Disease Diagnostics Market Key Players
Major key players in the phytopathological disease diagnostics market are Creative Diagnostics, Agdia, Inc., Norgen Biotek Corp., Abingdon Health, TwistDx Limited, BIOREBA AG and Qualiplante SAS. The major players are adopting several growth strategies such as product launches, acquisitions, and collaborations that contribute to the growth of the phytopathological disease diagnostics market globally. For instance, In January 2021, Agdia Inc. launched an ELISA reagent set to detect the tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV). It offers better sensitivity and specificity to the target pathogen than any other ELISA kit on the market.
Abingdon Health:
Overview:
Abingdon Health PLC is a privately held company headquartered in the United Kingdom and established in 2008. It is an innovative technology-led company focused on providing rapid and near-patient medical diagnostic testing solutions. The company manufactures lateral flow assay diagnostic tests, sometimes called rapid tests, lateral flow immunoassays (LFIA), lateral flow tests (LFT) or quick tests. Moreover, Abingdon Health owns and manufactures the Pocket Diagnostic brand. A range of tests is designed to detect important and commercially damaging plant pathogens such as Phytophthora and Potato virus Y.
Product Portfolio:
Pocket Diagnostic: It is an easy-to-use rapid plant disease tests kits to detect commercially damaging plant diseases in plants and crops caused by fungi, bacteria and viruses.
