Bees aid early detection of fireblight in orchards
Fireblight is a bacterial disease caused by the species Erwinia amylovora that affects fruit trees including apple and pear. It also affects other members of the rose family, including roses, crabapples and hawthorn. The disease can quickly spread through a plant, killing it within a few months, and can devastate entire orchards within a season.…
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…
Hazardous pesticides on the agenda as the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions hold joint meeting
Contributed by Melanie Bateman, CABI Switzerland Geneva– The three conventions that govern chemicals and hazardous waste safety at the global level are, for the first time, convening jointly in an historic back-to-back meeting of the parties in Geneva from 28 April to 10 May, 2013. The joint meeting aims to strengthen cooperation and collaboration between…
Black Rot Disease Hits Uganda
Vegetable farmers in the Kayunga and Mukono districts of Uganda are reporting crop losses due to black rot disease. One farmer, Twaha Kahooza of Kyampisi village, Kayunga Sub-county, says he had planted four acres of cabbages and was expecting about Shs18m (about £4,500 or US$7,000) from the harvest, however he only managed to get Shs5m…
What is M&E? and Gender Mainstreaming?
M&E is more than just a development buzzterm, it’s “a way of thinking” explains INTRAC workshop leader Max Peberdy, who was part of a the week-long training course for CABI staff in the UK. Plantwise programme leaders were among those learning how to embed montitoring and evaluation (M&E) as well as gender responsiveness into everyday project planning, and outcome tracking, for…
Plantwise Photo Of The Month- May
This photo shows Antonio Limbau, the Deputy Minister for Agriculture of Mozambique speaking on the implications of agricultural open data for developing countries at the G8 Open Data for Agriculture conference on Monday in Washington, D.C. Governments in developed countries are working hard to make agriculture data open for others and accessible to farmers. The…
Update: New Pest & Disease Records (01 May 13)
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 occurrence of Pachycoris torridus jewel bugs in Bahia, Brazil, the assessment of wheat cultivars for resistance to septoria leaf blotch-causing isolates and the incidence and identification of Cassava tuber rot caused…
Top tweets from G8 Open Data for Agriculture – Day 2
With a successful first day at the G8 conference wrapped up, and hundreds of tweets posted with ideas for how open data can contribute to increased food security, Day 2 kicked off with Dr Kathryn Sullivan from NOAA welcoming the delegates, and a session on ‘What Does Open Data Look Like?’ chaired by Prof Tim…
European Union Vote To Restrict Neonicotinoid Insecticide Use
After a European Commission vote yesterday (Monday 29th April 2013), Europe will enforce the world’s first continent-wide ban on neonicotinoid insecticides after concerns about their non-target impact on bee pollinators. The vote by the 27 European Union member states on whether to suspend the use of neonicotinoid insecticides was supported by 15 nations. The UK…
Top tweets from G8 Open Data for Agriculture – Day 1
Delegates from around the world are convening in Washington D.C. this week at the G8 conference on Open Data for Agriculture. The goal of the conference is to: “Obtain commitment and action from nations and relevant stakeholders to promote policies and invest in projects that open access to publicly funded global agriculturally relevant data streams,…