Experts suggest crops to replace those affected by climate change

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Members of the banana family could become a vital food source for millions in developing countries, a new report suggests. The report was written by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) after a request was made by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). CGIAR looked at the effect of climate…
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Update: New Pest & Disease Records (31 Oct 12)

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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. Records this fortnight include new pest (Duponchelia fovealis) recorded in a peanut field, the first record of Teratopactus nodicollis in dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) and a new distributional record of buff coconut mealybug in Kerala.
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Update: Plant Health News (24 Oct 12)

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Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including reports of Aster yellows infecting 60% of Canadian Canola, the identification of a recent maize virus in Kenya and the development of dual disease resistant Cassava. Click on the link to read more of the latest plant health news!
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Update: New Pest & Disease Records (17 Oct 12)

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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. Records this fortnight include a new record of  the whitefly Acaudaleyrodes rachipora attacking clusterbean in India, detection of algal leaf spot in citrus in Paraná state and a novel mastrevirus infecting wheat in India.
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Fungi just as effective as pesticides at controlling crop pest

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Researchers at Swansea University have found a strain of fungi that could replace harmful pesticides in the control of the European crane fly (Tipula paludosa). The effects of 17 strains of entomopathogenic fungi, chlorpyrifos-based pesticides and a nematode worm were compared. The pesticides and fungal strain V1005 Metarhizium robertsii were both found to be 100%…
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Update: Plant Health News (10 Oct 12)

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Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including snow and frost affecting Brazil’s apple crop, Bangladesh decoding the genome of a crop-killing fungus and ways to keep barley yellow dwarf virus under control. Click on the link to read more of the latest plant health news!
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Discovery of genes for resistance to black Sigatoka in bananas

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Researchers at Equador’s Biotechnology Research Centre (CIBE) have isolated the genes that are responsible for conferring resistance to black Sigatoka in the naturally resistant banana variety Musa Calcutta-4. Scientists have now been able to develop a protocol for the genetic transformation of banana cultivars Williams and Orito as well as the plantain cultivars Barraganete and…
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Update: New Pest & Disease Records (03 Oct 12)

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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. Records this fortnight include the first report of Tomato mosaic virus in eggplant in Iran, Brazilian ground pearl damaging blackberry, raspberry and blueberry in Brazil,  and the first report of Ascochyta rabiei causing ascochyta blight of chickpea…
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Kenyan initiative aims to get more cash from cashews

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A new initiative in Kenya is seeking to increase the profitability of the country’s declining cashew sector. The project aims to increase yields as well as improve the price the farmers get for their yield by replacing aging trees, educating farmers on crop management and improving access to markets. It is hoped that by 2015,…
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Update: Plant Health News (26 Sept 12)

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Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including droughts affecting Citrus in Bolivia, discovery of a phosphorous-boosting gene in rice and improved tea cultivars in Malawi. Click on the link to read more of the latest plant health news!
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