News of Plantwise Zambia sparks national media coverage
May 20, 2013 1 Comment
Contributed by Josepth Mulema, CABI Africa
Zambia Daily Mail article written by Benedict Tembo
Plantwise talks Open Data at G8 event next week… Join us!
April 26, 2013 1 Comment
What food security challenge could be solved with open access to data? CABI’s CEO and Plantwise representatives will join DFID, host USDA, and delegates from G8 countries in Washington, D.C. next week, April 29-30, to discuss putting the open exchange of knowledge at the heart of food security and global nutrition.
This is your chance to weigh in and participate. Watch the event on the USDA live site, and join us on facebook/CABI.development and @CABI_news to have your voice heard. Your top tweets and comments will be featured here on the Plantwise blog.
#OpenAgData #Plantwise
Plantwise shares impacts of local agricultural advice and partnership building with plant health leaders in Rome
April 12, 2013 Leave a comment
For 350 international delegates and observers attending this week’s annual meeting of the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM), standards will be adopted on plant protection with far-reaching implications on livelihoods, food security and ecosystems back at home. Plantwise, a development cooperation programme led by CABI which works to improve livelihoods in 31 countries, convened representatives of national governments and international organisations on Thursday to address the impact of improved pest advice, and pest tracking, for the small-holder farmer. At the CPM side session representatives of the World Trade Organization, the International Seed Federation and Contracting Parties of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) discussed how Plantwise can support the National Plant Protection Organisations (NPPO) and contribute to the mission of the IPPC.
Plantwise Photo Of The Month- April
April 2, 2013 Leave a comment
Participants at the first Plant Health Rally to take place in Santa Cruz, Bolivia © CABI UK
To read more about the work Plantwise is doing in Bolivia follow this link. To read Spanish factsheets specific to Bolivia on the Plantwise Knowledge Bank click here.
Plantwise launches in Ghana
March 18, 2013 2 Comments
Workshop opening ceremony included words from (l-r) Dr Victor Clottey, Dr Entsua-Mensah, Dr Samuel Kojo Dapaah and Morris Akiri © CABI
Plantwise, a global initiative run by CABI, was launched in Accra, Ghana last week. The initiative involves establishing plant clinics, which farmers can attend to get advice on plant health from trained plant doctors. In addition to the knowledge they acquire through the training programmes, these plant doctors can make use of the Plantwise Knowledge Bank which provides up-to-date information to best advise the farmer.
Following the launch, a review and planning workshop took place for stakeholders in the agricultural sector. The event attracted policy makers, extension workers, plant protection officers and researchers as well as private sector and non-governmental agencies who were all keen to share their knowledge and ideas on how to develop Plantwise activities in the country. Read more of this post
Plantwise Photo Of The Month- March
March 1, 2013 Leave a comment
CABI CEO, Dr Trevor Nicholls (right) welcomes Barbados to CABI membership as the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and Water Resource Management, Michael King (left) receives the Country Membership Certificate
What CABI Is Doing To Tackle Major Coffee Rust Outbreaks In Central America
February 12, 2013 Leave a comment
Guatemala has declared a state of agricultural emergency after coffee rust fungus has affected approximately 193,000ha of coffee, equating to 70% of the national crop. As a result of the outbreak, Guatemala is releasing $13.7m (£8.7m) in emergency aid to help farmers buy pesticides and to inform farmers on ways to manage the disease. Honduras and Costa Rica have already declared national emergency and El Salvador and Panama are also affected.
Coffee is a major export crop in many Central American countries and it is thought that this disease outbreak, which has been called “the worst seen in Central America and Mexico” by John Vandermeer, ecologist at the University of Michigan, will lead to big job losses. The Institute of Coffee in Costa Rica has estimated that the latest coffee rust outbreak may reduce the 2013-2014 harvest by 50% or more in the worst affected areas.
To find out more information about coffee rust view our Plantwise Knowledge Bank- Coffee Leaf Rust PDF booklet.
Symptoms of Coffee Rust (Hemileia vastatrix) © Carlos Roberto Carvalho, Ronaldo C. Fernandes, Guilherme Mendes Almeida Carvalho, Robert W. Barreto, Harry C. Evans (2011): Cryptosexuality and the Genetic Diversity Paradox in Coffee Rust, Hemileia vastatrix. PLoS ONE 6(11): e26387. {{doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0026387}} (CC-BY 2.5)
Genetic Engineering in Barbados
February 8, 2013 1 Comment
Agrobacterium on Sorrel
The Sorrel plant (left) was one of those found by the trainees during the recent training in Module 1 of how to be a plant doctor. The plant doctor training uses live plant material as well we photographs to lead the trainees through the process of field diagnosis.
The large and hard beige lump at the base of the stem is a gall caused by the bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens. The unique thing about this host/ pathogen interaction is the fact that DNA from the bacterium is inserted into the plant where it remains even long after the bacteria have been removed. This is the only natural example of DNA transfer of this kind; a natural genetic engineer.
Plantwise Photo Of The Month – February
February 1, 2013 Leave a comment
A farmer getting advice at a plant clinic in Nepal © Dannie Romney/CABI UK
To read more about plant clinics in Nepal and to watch a video of a plant clinic in action, click here.
To find out more about plant pests and diseases in Nepal visit the Plantwise Pest Distribution map
CABI scientists help to uncover new occurrences of plant diseases
January 18, 2013 1 Comment
Tertiary vein chlorosis of Cassava brown streak disease, just one of the diseases CABI scientists worked on in 2012 © IITA (CC BY-NC licence)
In 2012, CABI scientists continued to contribute to the discovery of new occurrences of plant pests and diseases, via the Plantwise diagnostic service. CABI’s Plantwise initiative offers a free service for eligible clients in developing countries, providing disease identification support to plant clinics. Every year, the DFID-funded service receives more than 500 samples from 80 different countries. CABI and Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA) scientists then diagnose the problem and report any new occurrences of pathogens they find. The following published reports contain examples of new occurrences discovered in 2012.
Authors
-
Abigail Rumsey
-
Alexis Rendell-Dunn
-
Vera Barbosa
-
carolinesm
-
Claire Beverley
-
Charlotte Elston
-
Claire Curry
-
Claire Shepherd
-
dengephil
-
faheemmuhammad
-
juldennis
-
julien
-
Katherine Cameron
-
Leanne Reeves
-
Miroslav Djuric
-
mjsue
-
marylucyoronje
-
Guest Blogger
-
Sara Thomas
-
David Simpson
-
Steven Forrest
-
theresacorless
-
thomascorser
