Bio-protection roadshow promotes low-risk plant protection products in Pakistan
Agriculture continues to face new and complex challenges. Not only do these affect agricultural production, but also basic and applied agricultural research and education. One key area of concern is the increasing threat from plant pests and diseases, made worse by climate change and environmental degradation. Farmers often turn to chemical pesticides to protect their…
Booklet Builder on the Plantwise Knowledge Bank
The Plantwise Knowledge Bank Booklet Builder helps you build a custom booklet containing Plantwise factsheets and Pest Management Decision Guides of your choice.
PlantwisePlus most read blogs of 2021
As 2021 draws to a close, we have crunched the numbers and present the most read articles on the PlantwisePlus Blog this year. Plus a few firm favourites. Articles on the launch of PlantwisePlus were some of the most read during 2021, as were those covering the work Plantwise continues to do on the ground…
Plantwise National Data Centre established in Pakistan
The plant health information collected through Plantwise plant clinics is a valuable resource. The Department of Plant Protection has set up a new National Data Centre in Karachi to collate clinic data. Plant health partners, stakeholders and other knowledge delivery systems will be able to use this information to make evidence-based decisions that strengthen plant…
Pest Risk Analysis workshop: spotting Pakistan’s potential invaders
Invasive species can cause enormous damage, affecting biodiversity, the environment, and people in invaded areas. They disproportionately affect communities in poor rural areas; people who depend on natural resources and healthy ecosystems to make a living. It is widely accepted that prevention is better than cure, however, how do you work out which species pose…
Update: New Pest & Disease Records (6 December 2021)
We’ve selected a few of the latest new geographic, host and species records for plant pests and diseases from CAB Abstracts. Records this month include the first report of the smut pathogen on teff in Ethiopia and the first report of Diaporthe fusicola causing leaf blotch of Osmanthus fragrans in China.
Threats to Coffee Production: What are they and the solutions?
The global coffee industry cultivates over $100 billion in revenue with the world’s population consuming over 500 billion cups per year. Yet with this huge global industry, the coffee we drink today is extremely vulnerable. Out of the 124 species of coffee plants found throughout the world, only two are used to produce commercial coffee,…
Conservation farming: can it offset fall armyworm’s impact?
Conservation farming has been promoted in sub-Saharan Africa as a way to potentially improve yields while conserving the environment. Farmer livelihoods are increasingly threatened by climate change, declining soil fertility, land degradation, pests, and diseases. Finding sustainable farming methods that address these challenges is key to feeding a growing population.
Maize Lethal Necrosis Disease – the invasive threatening maize
Maize lethal necrosis disease (MLND) was first identified in Peru in 1973. Since then, the disease has spread rapidly to other parts of Latin America and the USA. In Africa, the disease was first reported in Kenya in 2011. By 2014, it had spread to other countries in East Africa including Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan,…
Benefits of Pest Risk Information Service highlighted at CODATA Virtual SciDataCon
The benefits of the CABI-led Pest Risk Information Service (PRISE) in helping smallholder farmers mitigate crop pests outbreaks, thereby boosting their yields and livelihoods, have been highlighted at the CODATA Virtual SciDataCon 2021.