NEXT WEEK: West African workshop with Plantwise, IPPC and FAO in Ghana
Next Tuesday marks the opening ceremony of Plantwise‘s second workshop co-hosted with IPPC in Africa, this time bringing top plant health officials from across West Africa to Accra, Ghana. Over 40 participants from national crop protection in Sierra Leone, Malawi, Zambia and Ghana will convene over 4 days from July 29- August 1 to focus…
Update: Plant Health News (16 Jul 14)
Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including the varying effects of rain on crops in Ivory Coast, the discovery of wheat genes that control boron tolerance and the projects managed by FAO that aim to improve food security in Africa. Click on the link to read more of the…
The unfortunate plight of the pollinators- Who are the culprits?
Why are pollinators declining? New research suggests neonicotinoids are to blame. When we talk of the crop production we hardly remember to acknowledge the services of these tiny pollinators and also don’t bother to safeguard them when we invest a lot in plant protection. These pollinators play an elemental role in an important process of…
Update: New Pest & Disease Records (9 Jul 14)
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 rusts on sugarcane in Ecuador and Southern Africa, outbreaks of the whitefly Aleurothrixus aepim in Brazil, and the first report of the fungus Alternaria arborescens causing leaf spot on…
Maize lethal necrosis has spread to Rwanda
Report by Abigail Rumsey, Beatrice Uwumukiza and Bellancila Uzayisenga. In the past two years, we have reported on the presence of the maize lethal necrosis (MLN) disease in East African countries including Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The disease is also present in South Sudan. The most recent report has been of its spread to the…
Out now… the Plantwise Newsletter for July 2014!
Where do we begin? Plantwise has seen a busy 2014 so far. From Kenya to Costa Rica, there are new partners, plant doctors, and pest-fighting strategies (not to mention pilot mobile activities!) which we are pleased to share with you in this latest newsletter edition. Don’t forget to Guess the Pest at the end. Of…
Update: Plant Health News (02 Jul 14)
Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including the release of EFSA’s scientific opinion on biotech oilseed rape, why using too much fertilizer is bad for crops and bad for climate and how the El Niño is already impacting Peruvian fruit crops. Click on the link to read more of the latest…
Factsheet of the month: July – Maize Lethal Necrosis Disease
On Friday, the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) released an official pest report, submitted by KEPHIS, for the presence of Maize lethal necrosis disease (MLND) in Kenya. This disease is caused by a co-infection of Maize Chlorotic Mottle Virus and another cereal potyvirus, such as Sugarcane Mosaic Virus, Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus or Maize Dwarf Mosaic Virus.…
Plant Health Rallies to help control West Indian fruit fly in Grenada
Two Plant Health Rallies have recently been held in Grenada to raise awareness of the West Indian Fruit fly and promote the control of this pest using fruit fly bait stations. The rallies, which were organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, were aimed at local farmers with the…
Ghanaian droughts foreseen and Nepali floods that have been
Article by Sebastian Avery. Hope leaves Ghanaian farmers as another expected late rainfall leads to the possibility of drought. We can only pray that history does not repeat itself. As some of you may know 2007 was disastrous for Ghanaian farmers especially those living in the White Volta Basin. This is because a very similar…