World Food Prize 2014
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…
Update: Plant Health News (18 Jun 14)
Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including chemical-free citrus post-harvest becoming the new standard, how weeds could help feed billions in a warming world and the rehabilitation of banana fields devastated by Xanthomonas wilt in DRC. Click on the link to read more of the latest plant health news!
Better land care could add US $1.4 Trillion to economy
With over two-thirds of the earth’s land surfaced being used for agricultural production, there is no human activity today which puts more pressure on natural resources. This scidevnet article, reporting from last year’s summit of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification conference in Windhoek, Namibia establishes that it is not only ecologically responsible to promote…
Update: New Pest & Disease Records (11 Jun 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 Phytophthora cinnamomi in the rhizosphere of agricultural crops in southern Bahia (Brazil), the first report of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense tropical race 4 associated with Panama disease of banana outside…
Plantwise going strong in Democratic Republic of Congo
Plantwise has been active in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since 2006. It has been doing admirable work with the cocoa growers of ESCO Kivu and the “Universite Catholique du Graben” in North Kivu province in the last 5 years. However, since November 2013, the focus has been on getting the central government figures of…
Update: Plant Health News (04 Jun 14)
Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including the discovery of a microbe that could help control rice blast, concern over the effects of erratic rainfall on crops in Somalia and the discovery of a gene encoding resistance to stem and fruit rot of pepper. Click on the link to read more…
Factsheet of the month: June – Wild Oat Weed in Wheat
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,…
Update: New Pest & Disease Records (28 May 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 the identification of Dickeya zeae as a causal agent of bacterial soft rot in banana in China, the natural occurrence of entomophthoroid fungi of aphid pests on alfalfa in Argentina and the…
Plantwise in Mozambique launching today
The official launch event today kicks off Plantwise operations in Mozambique. Read full press release here (English/Portuguese) and stay tuned for highlights.
A day at the plant clinic in Pucara, Peru
Did you guess Peru in our ‘Guess the clinic‘ challenge? Well you were correct. On the morning of April 22nd , plant doctor and clinic coordinator Flavia Felix Huanca (pictured here) held a plant clinic for local farmers. They brought in samples of their crops which various problems, asking for her advice to diagnose…