Maize Lethal Necrosis Disease Spreads To Uganda
Maize Lethal Necrosis disease, which was first reported in Kenya and Tanzania, has now spread to Uganda, raising concerns for food security in the country. The Ministry of Agriculture has warned that Maize Lethal Necrosis has been reported in districts in eastern Uganda, including Busia and Tororo. A spokesman for the Agriculture Research Organisation, Robert…
Update: New Pest & Disease Records (03 Apr 13)
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 detection of Iris yellow spot virus (IYSV) in selected Allium species in Austria, attack of two new spider mites on sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) in Brazil and the effects of…
Plantwise Photo Of The Month- April
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.
Crowdsourcing: citizen farmers help in the fight against climate change
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…
Update: Plant Health News (27 Mar 13)
Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including work in Uganda to save the Irish Potato in Kabale, Brazil nearing eradication of a major fruit pest, and farmers testing wheat for climate change adaptation. Click on the link to read more of the latest plant health news!
Demonstrating plant virus transmission to farmers at a Plant Health Rally in Kenya
Blog by Florence Chege and Julien Lamontagne-Godwin During a Plant Health Rally regional training in Kitale, Western Kenya, 15 participants, including CABI Africa staff, local Kenya Agricultural Research Institute staff, Ministry of Agriculture extension staff and international Plantwise collaborators from Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda, went out to inform farmers on various local plant health issues…
Rise of Agriculture in the past 300 years
This glimpse of agricultural expansion over recent centuries, courtesy of Bill Rankin, tells us a compelling story of the importance of farming in the modern world. However, the increaase in land dedicated to farming does not necessarily translate to the increase in food and income to sustain people- not while 40% of these crops is lost to pests before it can even be harvested. Is it time to grow more…
In Uganda, plant doctors gain new insights
Nineteen plant doctors from the eastern and central region of Uganda are equipped and ready to give good advice to farmers – by Jane Frances Asaba and Joseph Mulema in Kampala, Uganda and Phil Taylor in UK As Plantwise Uganda continues to roll out more plant clinics, the need for training of plant doctors to…
New technology for detecting pests and diseases
by Keron Bascombe, Technology4Agri Much of farm enterprise activity is spent dealing with pests and diseases which significantly lower the yield of produce. For many producers this warrants the use of pesticides of many kinds to deter a wide variety of pests and insects that can either destroy crops or act as vectors that cause…
Update: New Pest & Disease Records (20 Mar 13)
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 an identification and pathogenecity study of Alternaria spp. of tomato and potato, a new species of entomopathogenic nematode from ginger rhizosphere and a risk model of citrus greening infection.