Climate change and the fight against plant diseases

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Earlier this month, Dr Adrian Newton from the James Hutton Institute spoke about the implications of climate change for pathogen defence in plants, at the Society for General Microbiology Spring Conference in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, UK. He explained, “The communities of microbes on plants are complex and include harmless and beneficial organisms as well as…
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More Plant Clinics for Sierra Leone

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  Plant clinics have taken off in Sierra Leone and are a permanent feature of the extension landscape backed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security. However they are trying to extend the numbers of plant clinics so as to make them more accessible to farmers and to this end, CABI with funding…
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Wheat rust and climate change – a possible connection

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A possible link between wheat stripe rust and climate change was observed by researchers meeting at the International Wheat Stripe Rust Symposium, which convened in Aleppo, Syria last week. The symposium organised by the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) aimed to review the current global status of wheat stripe rust…
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Update: Plant Health News (27 Apr 11)

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Here’s a taste of some of the latest news stories about plant health: Missing link in plant defense against fungal disease found ScienceDaily: Latest Science News, 25 April 2011 GM banana resistant to fungus shows promise SciDev.Net, 20 April 2011 Eradication Declared In South Florida Fruit Fly Fight Growing Produce – Florida Grower, 20 April…
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Update: New Pest & Disease Records (20 Apr 11)

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We’ve selected a few of the latest new geographic, host and species records for plant pests and diseases from CAB Abstracts. Click on the links to view the abstracts. First report of chlorotic and necrotic disease caused by Tobacco rattle virus on Capsicum annuum in Japan. Tomitaka, Y.; Fujimoto, T.; Nakata, M.; Ishikawa, R.; Usugi,…
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Update: Plant Health News (13 Apr 11)

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Here’s a taste of some of the latest news stories about plant health: Rising prices make corn insect control more beneficial Southeast Farm Press, 11 April 2011 Ozone reduces fungal spoilage of fruits and vegetables ScienceDaily: Latest Science News, 11 April 2011 Potential New Pest of Fruit – Spotted Wing Drosophila Weekly Crop Update, 8…
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Plant Clinics boost fight against diseases and pests

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“Plant clinics boost fight against diseases, pests” – this was the title of a story that appeared in the newspaper Business Daily last week. It was one of many positive articles that were written after a group of journalists were taken to visit some Plant Clinics in Kenya. The article includes examples where the Plant…
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Update: New Pest & Disease Records (6 Apr 11)

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We’ve selected a few of the latest new geographic, host and species records for plant pests and diseases from CAB Abstracts. Click on the links to view the abstracts. Characterization of Maize chlorotic mottle Virus associated with maize lethal necrosis disease in China. Xie Li; Zhang JingZe; Wang Qiang; Meng ChunMei; Hong Jian; Zhou XuePing…
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