Update: New Pest & Disease Records (06 Mar 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 first report of Banana bunchy top virus of Musa spp. in Nigeria, the first record of the leafhopper genus Igerna in China and a new Pythium species that causes severe damping…
How Mobile Technology is Transforming Livestock Farming In Kenya
Farmers and vets across Africa are increasingly using mobile phones to issue alerts about potential pest and disease outbreaks. The recent introduction of mobile phones that use the open source Android operating system or the iPhone iOS operating system and include GPS and Google Maps have provided new opportunities for developing mobile phone applications, allowing communication…
Improving Food Security Using Agroforestry Schemes
Agroforestry is an integrated system of trees and shrubs and/or crops and livestock within a managed agriculture area and has potential in improving food security in developing countries by fully utilising land, improving crop yields, diversifying farmer income and improving environmental sustainability. Last month the United National Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) published an “Advancing Agroforestry…
Update: Plant Health News (27 Feb 13)
Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including an advance in biological control, tips to drain soil, making the land usable and a study to develop strategies against Bollworm resistance to Bt Cotton in China. Click on the link to read more of the latest plant health news!
Monitoring and Management of Desert Locusts in Africa
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has this month warned that Desert Locust (Schistocerca gregaria) swarms are invading cropping areas of northern Sudan. The swarms originated from winter breeding areas on the Red Sea coastal plains and subcoastal areas in northeast Sudan and southeast Egypt. The situation requires close monitoring as more swarms are…
How The Gates Foundation and Carlos Slim are Supporting Innovation and Crop Improvement For Farmers
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Fundación Carlos Slim have announced a partnership in support of efforts by the Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center CIMMYT) in Mexico to develop and disseminate higher-yielding, more resilient wheat and maize varieties.
Update: New Pest & Disease Records (20 Feb 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 first report of Ralstonia solanacearum causing tomato bacterial wilt in Mexico, occurrences of a new fruit rot of peach caused by Hyphodermella rosae in northern Iran and the first…
Spot The Difference: Decoy Beetles Created To Manage The Invasive Emerald Ash Borer
The emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) is a beetle native to Asia which was first identified near Detroit, Michigan and Ontario in 2002. It is now a serious invasive pest of North American ash trees in the genus Fraxinus. Emerald ash borer populations are spreading rapidly in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic states of the USA,…
New Type of Invasive Whitefly Recorded In South Africa
A species of whitefly that transmits cassava mosaic virus has been detected in South Africa for the first time. The whitefly, Bemisia tabaci is a cryptic species complex containing some important agricultural pests and virus vectors. The term ‘cryptic species complex’ means that Bemisia tabaci is considered to be a complex of at least 24 different…