South-South collaboration helps in the fight against invasive pests
Invasive species cause widespread devastation and huge economic losses to smallholder farmers across the world, especially in sub-Saharan in Africa. Invasive species not only directly undermine farmer’s ability to achieve food security, they also affect smallholder agribusiness making farmers unable to link to profitable food value chains and international agricultural trade networks.
Scientists discover new crop-destroying Armyworm is now “spreading rapidly” in Africa
New research announced today by scientists at CABI confirms that a recently introduced crop-destroying armyworm caterpillar is now spreading rapidly across Mainland Africa and could spread to tropical Asia and the Mediterranean in the next few years, becoming a major threat to agricultural trade worldwide.
Pakistan’s papaya pest squashed through biocontrol
By Saleem Shaikh. Reblogged from SciDev.Net A severe infestation of the papaya mealybug (Paracoccus marginatus) nearly wiped out papaya orchards in Pakistan before the largely farmed country decided to replace conventional chemical pesticides that were ineffective with natural predators that proved to be successful. The system was developed by agro-biotechnologists and entomologists at the Pakistani chapter…
Plantwise showcases open access Knowledge Bank at global open data summit
Last week, CABI and Plantwise representatives attended the GODAN Summit in New York, the largest event ever planned for open data in agriculture and nutrition. It brought together key stakeholders from around the world to consider how open data can help achieve Zero Hunger – one of the key Sustainable Development Goals (SDG2). Speaking at the…
Update: Plant Health News (22 Jun 16)
Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including the effects of Tuta absoluta on tomato prices in Zambia, hail causing damage to crops in Colombia and the threat of invasive species on agriculture around the world. Click on the link to read more of the latest plant health news!
Update: Plant Health News (16 Feb 16)
Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including Tanzanian stakeholders concerned about whitefly pest, biocontrol in Kerala’s banana plantations and a record output of cashews in Ivory Coast. Click on the link to read more of the latest plant health news!
Update: Plant Health News (06 Jan 16)
Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including the invasive plants posing risk to food production in East Africa, a new tomato variety a hit with farmers in Australia and the use of botanical big data helping to predict how plant species will react to environmental change. Click on the link…
Water weed removed with surgical precision
Blog written by PT Bandara, CABI Associate, and WMDH Kulatunga, Sri Lanka. “A looming threat imposed by Salvinia molesta was averted through the introduction of a biocontrol agent by technical experts of the Department of Agriculture.” These were the words of Project Director Engineer RB Tennakoon, of the Moragahakanda Kaluganga Development Project, Sri Lanka; a project with…
New edition of weed biocontrol catalogue gives information on more than 2000 releases
The fifth edition of Biological Control of Weeds: A World Catalogue of Agents and Their Target Weeds has been released after years of literature searches and the involvement of 125 weed biocontrol specialists. The publication of this catalogue, available as a searchable online database and as a PDF book, was led by Mark Schwarzländer, University of Idaho…
Update: Plant Health News (08 May 13)
Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including the risk of Septoria attack if sprays are delayed, an internet data portal plan from the banana industry and new plant protein discoveries that could ease global food and fuel demands. Click on the link to read more of the latest plant health…