Update: New Pest & Disease Records (21 Mar 12)

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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 citrus tristeza virus found in Afghanistan for the first time, the first record of peas infected with tomato spotted wilt virus, and a new species of the pathogenic fungal genus…
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Where did black sigatoka come from?

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Black sigatoka, or black leaf streak disease, a disease of bananas and plantains caused by the fungus Mycosphaerella fijiensis, has caused widespread losses to banana crops over the past 50 years. A new study of the phylogeography of black sigatoka on banana leaves from around the world has helped to elucidate the recent origins of…
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Update: Plant Health News (13 Mar 12)

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Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including some good news for growers in Australia, New Zealand and Canada, how scientists have finally caught gene-thieving fungi, and a quick ‘pecan’ to the future of weevil control.   Click on the link to read more of the latest plant health news!
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Crop monitoring from space

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The USDA Agricultural Research Service, funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), is developing a computer model to map evapotranspiration data from Landsat satellites, which can be used to remotely assess crop health. The US Geological Survey Landsat satellites have been in orbit since 1972.…
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Update: New Pest & Disease Records (05 March 12)

strawb
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 time the sapote fruit fly has been found on citrus in Brazil, Fusarium species causing cucumber rot in Iran, and a new species of nematode discovered in India.
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Puddles of pests: why the weather really matters

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Weather – an integral part of farming ©Paul Dickson While folklore has worked well for many farmers over the years, watching out for red skies or the wind changing direction isn’t always convenient, and a little more notice of hurricanes and tropical storms is usually appreciated. With recent stories of rain beating down on mangoes in…
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Update: Plant Health News (29 Feb 12)

strawb
Here’s a taste of some of the latest news stories about plant health, including dehydrated weevils, bananas saved from nematode attack, and how weeds and diseases work together to take down sweetcorn. Click on the link to read more of the latest plant health news!    
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Getting Older Quicker: Wheat’s New Ageing Problem

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Many of us dislike getting older, but you can usually predict how it will go: next year you expect to be 1 year older and you expect your body to be 1 year older. But what if instead of continually growing over a year, your body instead decided to grow for 6 months and then stop…
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Leaf miner becomes vine connoisseur

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Leaf miners have an eclectic palate between them, enjoying everything from sweet potatoes to coconuts and cashews. It appears that at some point they decided that something was missing – perhaps a fine wine to wash it all down? After intensive studying of diet, morphology and DNA barcoding, it has been revealed that a mystery moth…
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Update: New Pest & Disease Records (21 Feb 12)

strawb
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 a new, unnamed virus infecting tomatoes and Euphorbia species in Venezuela; first reports of watermelon viruses in Palestine and Serbia; and a phytoplasma that infects prickly pear being found in…
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