So how can we deal with all this plant clinic data?
There are many ways that data from plant clinics can inform agricultural activities. Clinic data can be used to identify the distribution of major crops and diseases, and help to flag up new and emerging pests and diseases. These data can also contribute to the monitoring of the quality of advice given to farmers at…
News of Plantwise Zambia sparks national media coverage
Contributed by Josepth Mulema, CABI Africa [scribd id=142518071 key=key-rg25wqt46we9xn8h03j mode=scroll] Zambia Daily Mail article written by Benedict Tembo
Ending hunger will require increased agricultural investment, urges UK Parliament
In order to end global hunger and malnutrition in this lifetime, the UK government needs to increase investment in agriculture, urges members of the UK parliament in a new report released today. Home Grown Nutrition, produced by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Agriculture and Food for Development, outlines the key challenges facing food security, and recommendations for overcoming these challenges based on the series of Westminster- held debates. At…
Update: New Pest & Disease Records (15 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 recent multiple introductions of the gall-forming aphid Pemphigus bursarius into Japanese islands, the distribution and characterization of Streptomyces species causing potato common scab in Germany and the first report of Endoclita signifer as…
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…