More Plant Clinics for Sierra Leone

strawb
  Plant clinics have taken off in Sierra Leone and are a permanent feature of the extension landscape backed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security. However they are trying to extend the numbers of plant clinics so as to make them more accessible to farmers and to this end, CABI with funding…
Read Further

Wheat rust and climate change – a possible connection

strawb
A possible link between wheat stripe rust and climate change was observed by researchers meeting at the International Wheat Stripe Rust Symposium, which convened in Aleppo, Syria last week. The symposium organised by the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) aimed to review the current global status of wheat stripe rust…
Read Further

Update: Plant Health News (27 Apr 11)

strawb
Here’s a taste of some of the latest news stories about plant health: Missing link in plant defense against fungal disease found ScienceDaily: Latest Science News, 25 April 2011 GM banana resistant to fungus shows promise SciDev.Net, 20 April 2011 Eradication Declared In South Florida Fruit Fly Fight Growing Produce – Florida Grower, 20 April…
Read Further

Update: New Pest & Disease Records (20 Apr 11)

strawb
We’ve selected a few of the latest new geographic, host and species records for plant pests and diseases from CAB Abstracts. Click on the links to view the abstracts. First report of chlorotic and necrotic disease caused by Tobacco rattle virus on Capsicum annuum in Japan. Tomitaka, Y.; Fujimoto, T.; Nakata, M.; Ishikawa, R.; Usugi,…
Read Further

Update: Plant Health News (13 Apr 11)

strawb
Here’s a taste of some of the latest news stories about plant health: Rising prices make corn insect control more beneficial Southeast Farm Press, 11 April 2011 Ozone reduces fungal spoilage of fruits and vegetables ScienceDaily: Latest Science News, 11 April 2011 Potential New Pest of Fruit – Spotted Wing Drosophila Weekly Crop Update, 8…
Read Further

Plant Clinics boost fight against diseases and pests

strawb
“Plant clinics boost fight against diseases, pests” – this was the title of a story that appeared in the newspaper Business Daily last week. It was one of many positive articles that were written after a group of journalists were taken to visit some Plant Clinics in Kenya. The article includes examples where the Plant…
Read Further

Update: New Pest & Disease Records (6 Apr 11)

strawb
We’ve selected a few of the latest new geographic, host and species records for plant pests and diseases from CAB Abstracts. Click on the links to view the abstracts. Characterization of Maize chlorotic mottle Virus associated with maize lethal necrosis disease in China. Xie Li; Zhang JingZe; Wang Qiang; Meng ChunMei; Hong Jian; Zhou XuePing…
Read Further

Update: Plant Health News (23 Mar 11)

strawb
Here’s a taste of some of the latest news stories about plant health: Switzerland: new health provisions for the import, trade and plant production Anemia, 20 March 2011 Indian Mustard May Be Alternative to Fumigation in Cotton CropBiotech Update, 18 March 2011 Taking plants to the doctor: plant health clinics from Bolivia to Bangladesh R4D…
Read Further

Plantwise at the IPPC (International Plant Protection Convention) Rome

strawb
The 6th  Session of the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures  was held in Rome on 14th –18th of March 2011;  CABI was represented by Dr. Phil Taylor who gave a talk entitled “Maintaining global vigilance for pests and diseases”. This talk described the work of the plant clinics and how the clinic data was being added…
Read Further

Introduction of remote microscopy (RM) into ASEAN Regional Diagnostic Network (ARDN)

strawb
The lack of taxonomists is very much a global issue, hence the establishment of the Global Taxonomy Initiative (GTI) and the BioNET International and its LOOPs. In ASEAN countries, the shortage of in-country taxonomic expertise to identify plant pests and diseases is often compounded by difficulties in access to taxonomic expertise abroad. Thus, ASEANET and…
Read Further