Revisiting Alternaria-host interactions: New insights on its pathogenesis, defense mechanisms and control strategies

•Alternaria leaf blight is a serious problem in agriculture and horticulture.•Alternaria host interactions (pathogenesis, toxicity, immune response and hormonal crosstalk).•Fungicide resistance in Alternaria pathogens and nanofungicides.•Role of multiomics and deep learning in Alternaria disease management.•Development of disease resistant varieties (from transgenics to genome editing).