Update: New Pest & Disease Records (14 Nov 12)
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 mango malformation disease in Senegal, report of Fusarium azukicola sp. nov. in Hokkaido, Japan and the first report of the cereal cyst nematode Heterodera filipjevi on wheat…
Floods in Haiti and India devastate crops
Hurricane Sandy has left fields in the south of Haiti under water, causing crop losses of up to 40%. This follows damage from a drought and the effects of Hurricane Isaac earlier this year. Meanwhile, 9000 miles away in Andhra Pradesh, India, rice farmers are also suffering with their crops waist-deep in floodwater following several…
Update: Plant Health News (07 Nov 12)
Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including a breakthrough in developing salt-tolerant crops, biocontrol of apple pests and aphid resistance found in black raspberry. Click on the link to read more of the latest plant health news!
Bean and Gone – Controlling the Coffee Berry Borer Using Integrated Pest Management
The Coffee Berry Borer, Hypothenemus hampei, is a tiny beetle which is widely considered to be the most damaging pest of coffee plantations in the world. Originating in Africa, it is now found in almost all coffee growing areas in the world as an invasive species, with nearly 160 records from different areas worldwide on…
Update: New Pest & Disease Records (31 Oct 12)
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.
Colorado Potato Beetles Left With A Sour Taste As Clover Is Found To Be As Effective As Pesticides
Eggplant or aubergine (Solanum melongena) is a crop often attacked by the Colorado Potato Beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata), a major insect pest of plants from the Solanaceae family including potato, tomato and eggplant throughout North America, Europe and Asia. This insect pest is exceptionally destructive to crops and readily develops resistance to a wide variety of…
Update: Plant Health News (24 Oct 12)
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!
Plant Pest Interactions: How Soybean Aphids Trick Soybean Plant Defences
Following on from a previous blog on the interactions between soybean plants and soybean pests, new research on soybean (Glycine max) responses to the soybean aphid (Aphis glycines) published in Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions has revealed some of the complex and fascinating interactions between pests and their plant hosts. This recent research led by Dr Gustavo Macintosh and…
Plantwise plant clinic at the Nairobi International Trade Fair
by Kimani Chege and Abigail Rumsey Plant clinics have been running in Kenya since 2010. There are currently 35 clinics throughout Kenya, to which farmers can bring their crops and receive a diagnosis of the pest or disease that is causing them problems. These clinics are organized and run by the Ministry of Agriculture extension…
The Model Plant
Charis Cook works for GARNet, a BBSRC-sponsored network that supports plant scientists in the UK by, among other things, linking researchers to each other and to the research councils, and providing an information hub for plant scientists. GARNet also has its own blog. Before working for GARNet, Charis was at Royal Holloway, University of London,…