Plant Doctors in Vietnam go digital

Donna Hutchinson1 Comment
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Plant Doctors and data managers complete E-Plant Clinic training in Hanoi

Plant clinics in Vietnam have received a major boost with the introduction of digital devices to facilitate the work of plant doctors. The use of tablets and smartphones has been proven to help plant doctors improve the quantity and quality of data generated from plant clinic operations. With improved ICTs, the captured data from plant clinics can be added swiftly to the Plantwise Online Management Systems (POMS) and managed from one device. Prior to this, plant clinic operations were dependent on a paper-based system of recording pest and disease data provided by farmers during clinics.

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NextGen Cassava Improving Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa

Will HollandLeave a comment
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Unhealthy cassava leaves (© CABI)

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has paired with the UK Government to award the Next Generation (NextGen) Cassava Breeding Project $35 million with the aim of promoting the growth of cassava crops and to improve food security in Sub-Saharan Africa.

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Empoderamiento de la mujer a través de las clínicas de planta del Perú

Donna Hutchinson1 Comment

Autor: Eduardo Augusto Neves
Reconocimiento a: Marieta Cervantes y Fernando Escobal, INIA Baños del Inca

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Ing. Marieta Eliana Cervantes Peralta, doctora de plantas de la estación experimental de INIA ‘Baños del Inca’ en Cajamarca, Perú, conoce bien la realidad de las mujeres rurales. Hija de campesinos, vivió su niñez y adolescencia en una comunidad rural de la provincia de La Unión, al sur de Perú. Su familia era consciente de la necesidad de invertir en su educación. Una chica que ingresa a la universidad para estudiar agricultura era algo excepcional en su comunidad.

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New coalition puts knowledge and skills into the hands of those who need it

Marin Hirschfeld1 Comment

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CABI has joined forces with the ISEAL Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Coalition in the fight to implement better, less chemical-dependent, ways for farmers to manage agricultural pests and diseases that account for around 40% of lost crops worldwide. By linking with the Plantwise Knowledge Bank, the coalition aims to share knowledge on sustainable pest management strategies, strengthen knowledge exchanges on alternative methods for pest management, as well as identifying and focusing on specific pest-disease.

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Plantwise trials image recognition app Plantix in India

Marin HirschfeldLeave a comment

Plantix 4Plantwise and the German-based company PEAT (Progressive Environmental & Agricultural Technologies) are about to conduct an 18-month pilot study to assess the benefits of PEAT’s smartphone app Plantix, which can help to diagnose plant pests, diseases and nutrient deficiencies in the field.

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Why intersectionality is key to women’s empowerment in agriculture

Donna HutchinsonLeave a comment

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Women play a critical and potentially transformative role in agricultural growth in developing countries, but they face persistent obstacles and economic contraints which limit their full inclusion in agriculture. The FAO suggest that closing the gender gap in access to productive resources could increase agricultural output in the developing world by 2.5-4%, reducing the number of undernourished people by 12-17%. Women in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia produce more than half of all the food grown worldwide. Empowering women in agriculture is fundamental to achieving the global goals.

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Update: New Pest & Disease Records (5 Mar 18)

Will HollandLeave a comment
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Wheat crop (Triticum), now vulnerable to Cocksfoot mottle virus in Ohio, USA (© Stockphoto) 

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 grapevine syrah virus-1 in China, the first report of Cocksfoot mottle virus infecting wheat in Ohio, USA and the first report of Tobacco mosaic virus infecting sesame in China.

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