Llevando apoyo técnico a las etnias aisladas de la Mosquitia, Honduras
Por Eduardo Hidalgo La Mosquitia es un territorio de 16.997 km², ubicado en la costa del Caribe de Honduras y habitado principalmente por las etnias indígenas misquita, tawahka, pech y garífuna. La población es de 100,000 habitantes de los cuales el 36% son misquitos y sus principales actividades son la agricultura y la pesca. La…
The future for coastal farmers in Bangladesh
A recent study published in Nature Climate Change has suggested that the future global effects of climate change will impact the livelihoods of over 200,000 coastal farmers in Bangladesh as sea levels rise. Flooding of saltwater is already negatively impacting coastal residents in the country as soil conditions alter, causing farmers to either change from…
Update: New Pest & Disease Records (05 November 18)
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 Trochoideus desjardinsi in Cuba. 8 new records of Curculionidae in Saudi Arabia and 3 new species of aphids in China.
Tailor-made crop varieties for farmers
Bacterial wilt (Ralstonia solanacearum) is one of the world’s most devastating plant diseases, with major crops such as tomato, potato and pepper being severely affected. Until now, crop breeders and farmers have had to simply wait for their crops to mature to determine the level of resistance to the disease. New research has shown that…
Reverse innovation brings new intelligence to food chain pest management
CABI has today launched PestSmart Diagnostics in Europe and North America, a new and unique e-learning course based on training developed for the award-winning Plantwise agricultural programme aimed at farmers in developing countries. PestSmart promises to benefit the way businesses in the food supply chain manage plant health problems to grow more and better produce.
Plant health key to reducing world hunger
By Katie Tomlinson On the 16th October, World Food Day events will take place around the globe to draw attention to the growing problem of world hunger and malnutrition. Shockingly, the FAO has reported that 10% of the global population experienced severe food insecurity in 2017 and that world hunger has increased for the third…
The Umatui amazing site women group tackle Tuta absoluta
Located in semi-arid Eastern Kenya, Machakos county is home to the Umatui amazing site women group. The group comprises 15 members who mainly grow tomatoes, cowpeas, pigeon peas, and maize. It is among eight other women groups working with Katoloni Community Based Organisation (CBO), a non governmental organization under infonet biovision. The CBO runs a mobile…
Update: New Pest & Disease Records (13 October 18)
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 sweet potato Badnavirus in South Africa. The first report of Arabis mosaic virus in rhubarb in Poland and the first report of maize yellow mosaic virus…
Improving food crop yields using blue-green algae
Using specialised carbon-fixing material from blue-green algae, scientists have successfully engineered crop plants to boost photosynthetic productivity and crop yields. This exciting development promises to increase the yield of important food crops such as cassava, wheat and cowpea.
Plantwise showcases plant health expertise at TROPED 2018
By Muhammad Faheem and Chan Fook-Wing At the recent International Conference on Tropical Fruit Pest and Diseases (known as TROPED), which took place in Malaysia, attendees from countries including the Philippines, Fiji, China, Sudan, and India learned about Plantwise through a series of talks, demos, and an exhibition stand.