Facing the future of crop protection: officials from across Africa join IPPC, Plantwise and FAO for collaboration on plant health
For farmers across Africa and around the world, tackling crop pest problems in a safe and sustainable way is a major challenge. Currently between 30-40% of crops on average are lost to pests, and while the technology and knowledge exist to reduce losses, vital plant health information remains out of reach for many farmers. It…
Factsheet of the month: August – Sulphur to control powdery mildew in cashew
Last weekend, a team of experts from the Naliendele agricultural research institute (NARI) held a seminar in Tanzania to present lectures on the prevention and control of pests affecting cashew. Although cashew production in Tanzania has declined since the 1970s, it remains an important cash crop in the coastal regions of the country. The seminar,…
Update: Plant Health News (30 Jul 14)
Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including the effects of typhoons in Taiwan and China, a new strategy for almond irrigation in California and a crackdown on fake seed sellers in Kenya. Click on the link to read more of the latest plant health news!
Looking back on 2013: Plantwise brainstorm
Last year, 2013, was a productive year for Plantwise. There were over 120,000 visits to the online knowledge bank, with over 250,000 page views. This is great news because there were over 15,000 views per month, with people exploring distribution maps, browsing the image-led diagnostic tool, and looking at factsheets on treatment of pests and…
NEXT WEEK: West African workshop with Plantwise, IPPC and FAO in Ghana
Next Tuesday marks the opening ceremony of Plantwise‘s second workshop co-hosted with IPPC in Africa, this time bringing top plant health officials from across West Africa to Accra, Ghana. Over 40 participants from national crop protection in Sierra Leone, Malawi, Zambia and Ghana will convene over 4 days from July 29- August 1 to focus…
Update: Plant Health News (16 Jul 14)
Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including the varying effects of rain on crops in Ivory Coast, the discovery of wheat genes that control boron tolerance and the projects managed by FAO that aim to improve food security in Africa. Click on the link to read more of the…
The unfortunate plight of the pollinators- Who are the culprits?
Why are pollinators declining? New research suggests neonicotinoids are to blame. When we talk of the crop production we hardly remember to acknowledge the services of these tiny pollinators and also don’t bother to safeguard them when we invest a lot in plant protection. These pollinators play an elemental role in an important process of…
Update: New Pest & Disease Records (9 Jul 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 new rusts on sugarcane in Ecuador and Southern Africa, outbreaks of the whitefly Aleurothrixus aepim in Brazil, and the first report of the fungus Alternaria arborescens causing leaf spot on…
Maize lethal necrosis has spread to Rwanda
Report by Abigail Rumsey, Beatrice Uwumukiza and Bellancila Uzayisenga. In the past two years, we have reported on the presence of the maize lethal necrosis (MLN) disease in East African countries including Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The disease is also present in South Sudan. The most recent report has been of its spread to the…
Out now… the Plantwise Newsletter for July 2014!
Where do we begin? Plantwise has seen a busy 2014 so far. From Kenya to Costa Rica, there are new partners, plant doctors, and pest-fighting strategies (not to mention pilot mobile activities!) which we are pleased to share with you in this latest newsletter edition. Don’t forget to Guess the Pest at the end. Of…