Taro caterpillar outbreak in central India

The Taro caterpillar (Spodoptera litura), is a pest of many crops across Asia and Oceania. This species is generally well-controlled by natural enemies. Therefore, outbreaks in India’s Madhya Pradesh over the past two years are particularly notable.
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New plant doctors in India “monitor the field through a farmer’s eyes”

Launching of Plantwise training in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. With the support of the State Government of Madhya Pradesh, under an RKVY scheme, a 6-day training programme on Plantwise modules was conducted at the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA), Jabalpur, in technical collaboration with CABI.
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Update: Plant Health News (21 Oct 15)

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Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including how technology could increase Citrus yields in Pakistan by 30%, what scientists in Kenya are doing to eliminate devastating wheat rust and a global maps of the gap between potential and actual yields of wheat and maize. Click on the link to read…
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Update: Plant Health News (11 Feb 15)

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Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including Striga resistant maize yielding well in Kenya, scientists in the UK  finding a potential way to control leaf blotch disease in wheat and a grant under the Competitive African Rice Initiative (CARI) to help small scale rice producers by creating better linkages in…
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Update: Plant Health News (28 Jan 15)

Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including native ants helping to improve cocoa yields in Indonesia, unseasonal rains affecting crops in India and local mangoes in the Philippines declared free from mango seed weevil. Click on the link to read more of the latest plant health news!
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World Food Prize 2014

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This week, the President of the World Food Prize Foundation, Ambassador Kenneth M. Quinn announced that Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram has been selected as the 2014 World Food Prize Laureate for his contribution to improving wheat yields. Dr. Rajaram’s work on crossing winter and spring wheat varieties resulted in an impressive 480 wheat varieties which have…
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Factsheet of the month: June – Wild Oat Weed in Wheat

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Wheat is one of the most important crops grown around the world. Its high protein content compared to other cereals  means it is a key component in the diets of  many. It is also easy to cultivate, versatile and contains a range of vitamins and minerals. Although pest resistant varieties of wheat have been developed,…
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Update: Plant Health News (23 Apr 14)

Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including the postharvest pathology of beans, a reduction in the proportion of shade grown coffee and the filamentous fungus that may be effective at controlling sugarcane nematodes. Click on the link to read more of the latest plant health news!
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Factsheet of the month: April – Wheat stem rust

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Last week, the Borlaug Summit on Wheat for Food Security took place in Mexico, bringing together thought leaders, policymakers, and leading agricultural research-for-development organizations to discuss the role of wheat in the future of food security. Wheat is an extremely important crop that provides around 20% of the world’s calories but this staple crop is threatened…
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Crowdsourcing: citizen farmers help in the fight against climate change

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Farmers in India are helping in to fight the effects of climate change by lending their data collection skills for research into wheat. Biodiversity International is working with partners such as the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) and the IFFCO Foundation as part of an initiative called Seeds4Needs. This initiative aims to identify the crop…
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