Plantwise initiative helping improve food security in Zambia
Ever since Lackson Njovu, a farmer in Rufunsa district, learnt how to deal with plant diseases and pests using the natural way, his harvest has improved. Mr Njovu now registers less losses and feeds more by identifying, preventing and curing plant health problems. On his five hectares farm east of the capital, Lusaka, where he…
Plantwise Bangladesh in a new era of partnership: National Extension Officers trained as Plant Doctors
The Plantwise programme in Bangladesh was launched with the training for module 1 (Field Diagnosis and Plant Clinic Operation) and module 2 (Introduction to Plant Healthcare) for 32 extension officers in Dhaka early this March. The training followed the signing of a tripartite agreement between the Economic relation division, Ministry of Agriculture and CABI on…
And so, farewell to CPM10
Contributed by Roger Day, CABI With a delicate tap of her wooden gavel, chairperson Ms Kyu-Ock Yim signalled adoption of the report of the 10th Session of the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM10) late on Friday afternoon. Delegates applauded; with satisfaction, with relief, in appreciation of the chair? Perhaps a bit of everything. Ms Yim…
Perú: Una visita al campo con los Doctores de Plantas en Huamanga-Ayacucho
Texto escribido por los doctores de planta de la Estación Experimental Agraria Canaán (INIA): Victoriano Eduardo Núñez Cuba, Melancio Huamani García y Aníbal N. Huarancca, y editando por Léna Durocher-Granger (CABI-UK). English summary follows El Instituto Nacional de Innovación Agraria (INIA), organismo público adscrito al Ministerio de Agricultura y Riego, a través de la Estación Experimental…
World Planting Day – 21 of March 2015
According to the astronomical definition, the first day of spring in 2015 is on March 20. When spring starts, nature also awakes! Not surprisingly, many favoured vegetables in Europe are sown in spring. That is why on March 21 we celebrate the World Planting Day. Urban gardening brings planting back to the cities Recently, the…
Electronic noses and other pest detection tech at CPM10
Contributed by Roger Day, CABI Some of the latest gadgets and gizmos for detecting plant pests were demonstrated and discussed at the 10th Session of the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures on Thursday. Inspecting for pests, whether in the field or in consignments, can be like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack. So anything…
Beware! Pests on the high seas
Contributed by Roger Day, CABI If you put all the shipping containers in the world end to end, the line would go round the world 5 times. So a problem with a very small proportion of them is still a pretty big problem. One such problem is that when a container is being packed with…
Back to the future at CPM10
Contributed by Roger Day, CABI CPM10 has heard how the Strategic Planning Group (SPG) indulged in a little well-considered phytosanitary “future-casting” at its 2014 meeting. Challenged by the secretariat to think about what the IPPC might look like 20 years from now, members came up with over 60 points for reflection, grouped into 7 areas:…
Update: New Pest & Disease Records (18 Mar 15)
We’ve selected a few of the latest new geographic, host and species records for plant pests and diseases from CAB Abstracts. Records this fortnight include new gall midges from Papua New Guinea, the first report of white rust of rocket caused by Albugo candida in South Africa and the first report of Botrytis pseudocinerea causing…