Bringing together technical resources to address the spread of plant pests
Julia Dennis reports from this week’s International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) 8th session of the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM8) in Rome. A side event during lunch on Tuesday provided a demonstration of the www.phytosanitary.info. This website is a database of phytosanitary technical resources contributed by the world’s plant protection community. In 2012, member countries and other partners…
Update: Plant Health News (10 Apr 13)
Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including measures taken against Banana Xanthomonas Wilt in Tanzania, new citrus varieties released in Brazil and GM cotton linked to rise in aphid numbers. Click on the link to read more of the latest plant health news!
Invasive species by sea: What can be done?
Contributed by Roger Day and Melanie Bateman from Rome One major cause of pest spread- sea shipment containers- was a key discussion topic on the first evening of the IPPC’s week-long annual meeting, the CPM8. With over 35 million sea shipments each year, regulation is both crucial and extremely complex. “The complexity of the situation is such that…
National Plant Protection Organisations to share their experiences of Plantwise with IPPC delegates
This week, the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) is holding its 8th session of the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM8) at the FAO headquarters in Rome. This conference will be a chance for members to discuss current plant protection issues, particularly with regard to plant pests. Plantwise has been invited to host a side event…
Maize Lethal Necrosis Disease Spreads To Uganda
Maize Lethal Necrosis disease, which was first reported in Kenya and Tanzania, has now spread to Uganda, raising concerns for food security in the country. The Ministry of Agriculture has warned that Maize Lethal Necrosis has been reported in districts in eastern Uganda, including Busia and Tororo. A spokesman for the Agriculture Research Organisation, Robert…
Update: New Pest & Disease Records (03 Apr 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 detection of Iris yellow spot virus (IYSV) in selected Allium species in Austria, attack of two new spider mites on sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) in Brazil and the effects of…
Plantwise Photo Of The Month- April
To read more about the work Plantwise is doing in Bolivia follow this link. To read Spanish factsheets specific to Bolivia on the Plantwise Knowledge Bank click here.
Crowdsourcing: citizen farmers help in the fight against climate change
Farmers in India are helping in to fight the effects of climate change by lending their data collection skills for research into wheat. Biodiversity International is working with partners such as the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) and the IFFCO Foundation as part of an initiative called Seeds4Needs. This initiative aims to identify the crop…
Update: Plant Health News (27 Mar 13)
Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including work in Uganda to save the Irish Potato in Kabale, Brazil nearing eradication of a major fruit pest, and farmers testing wheat for climate change adaptation. Click on the link to read more of the latest plant health news!
Demonstrating plant virus transmission to farmers at a Plant Health Rally in Kenya
Blog by Florence Chege and Julien Lamontagne-Godwin During a Plant Health Rally regional training in Kitale, Western Kenya, 15 participants, including CABI Africa staff, local Kenya Agricultural Research Institute staff, Ministry of Agriculture extension staff and international Plantwise collaborators from Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda, went out to inform farmers on various local plant health issues…