Plant doctors: fighting crop pests through integrated pest management
The increase in devastating crop pests, such as the fall armyworm and tomato pinworm, has led to a growth in pesticide use among smallholder farmers. The lack of product knowledge and safety awareness means there is a widespread tendency not to adhere to safety precautions.
Update: New Pest & Disease Records (17 Sep 14)
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 the first report of Fusarium wilt in blueberry caused by Fusarium oxysporum in China, a new species of Beamerana from southeastern Brazil and new records of plant parasitic nematodes from rhizosphere…
How plant diseases attract plant pests
In the same way that mosquitoes transmit the malaria-causing parasite, Plasmodium, between humans, some species of leafhopper transmit phytoplasma bacteria between plants. Phytoplasmas are bacterial pathogens that infect the plant phloem and require sap-sucking bugs to transport them to other plants. Researchers at the John Innes Centre on Norwich Research Park have found that leafhoppers…