We need to involve more women in the agricultural sciences. Here's how.
By Jemimah Njuki. Reblogged from devex. “I would like to see the scientist working on beans; do you know where I can find him?” I got asked this question more times that I could count. As a young female African researcher working in Malawi for an international agriculture research organization, my office was the first in…
Researchers Learn from Plant Viruses to Protect Crops
By Claire Asher. Reblogged from The Scientist magazine. In 2011, Noah Phiri was working with local farmers in Kenya to combat the fungal pathogen that causes coffee leaf rust when another virulent plant disease began wiping out maize in the country’s southwest corner. Infected plants developed pale streaks on their leaves, then wilted and died. Some farmers…
Agroforestry: Mitigating Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus Disease in Ghana
Crop diseases are an ever-increasing worldwide threat and estimated to be the cause of the 20-40% decrease in global agricultural productivity. With this boom in plant diseases affecting agricultural practices, there is therefore also an increased demand for research and the implementation of disease control and management schemes.
Update: New Pest & Disease Records (7 Feb 18)
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 yellow speckle viroids in Nigeria, the first report of tomato ringspot virus (Secoviridae) in a vineyard in Ohio, USA and the first report of pepper vein…
Robert Reeder on Protecting Banana Crops
“Bananas, along with lots of crop plants are under threat from pests and diseases. The reason that bananas are particularly threatened is their lack of genetic diversity.” Listen to CABI’s very own Rob Reeder talk to Greg Peterson on this podcast from The Urban Farm. Rob talks in detail about the increasing threat to the…
Plant doctor workshop in Hangzhou, China, raises awareness of Plantwise training
A recent awareness raising workshop for the plant doctor training of Plantwise was held at the Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University (ZAFU) in Hangzhou in Eastern China. The meeting was aimed at raising awareness among university students, the private sector, and plant protection experts about plant doctor training and certification. About 70 participants were present…
Developing pest-smart farmers in Cambodia
In Rohal Suong Climate-Smart Village, adoption of ecological engineering practices has improved farmers’ ability to prevent pests and diseases outbreaks while reducing pesticides use. Every year, a great portion of Cambodian farmers’ income is at risk because of possible pests and diseases (P&D) outbreak. Aside from the inadequate knowledge of farmers, climate change aggravates the…
Is it time for genetically modified bananas in Uganda?
Uganda is the world’s second largest producer of banana crop, with individuals consuming around 1.5 pounds of banana every day. Due to this major need for the success of banana crops within the country, plant pests and diseases are ever more threatening.
Taking on Fall Armyworm in Africa: The search for effective natural enemies
Written by Ivan Rwomushana. Reblogged from CABI’s Invasives Blog. The Fall Armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda has emerged as a serious threat to food security for millions of smallholder producers in Africa due to its rapid spread across the continent and extensive damage to staple cereals. At the last count, at least 28 countries were reported to be…
Lead battery soil contamination in Africa and the implications on plant and human Health
Globally, battery manufacturing and recycling plants have been identified as the major sources of soil lead contamination that have resulted in lead exposure to neighbouring communities via the accumulation of lead within plants. Lead is naturally found in soil in relatively low concentrations (10-50 mg/kg) in which it is taken up by plants via the…