Update: Plant Health News (02 Mar 16)
Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including what can be done about the depleted nitrogen in African soils, investment in safe agricultural products in Vietnam and the effect El Niño is having on global food production. Click on the link to read more of the latest plant health news!
Plantwise shortlisted for OECD DAC Prize
The CABI-led Plantwise programme has been named as a finalist for the OECD DAC Prize 2015. This award recognises organisations taking innovative approaches beyond the pilot phase to wider application. The OECD Development Assistance Committee’s objective is to “acknowledge development actors who take this step: from supporting innovation, to using it systematically and strategically to address development challenges by taking…
Update: New Pest & Disease Records (24 Feb 16)
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 occurrence of the tobacco cyst nematode subspecies Globodera tabacum subsp. virginiae in France, Spilocaea pyracanthae causing leaf scab on loquat in Pakistan and the first report of Alternaria sp. PMK1 causing…
Farmer Health: A Case Against Pesticides
Guest blog by Julie Potyraj; read her previous post on community health here For most of us, the point of choosing sustainably grown foods is to protect our own health and to minimize environmental damage. While these are important reasons for making better choices at the grocery store, what about the human side and the health of those…
Update: Plant Health News (16 Feb 16)
Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including Tanzanian stakeholders concerned about whitefly pest, biocontrol in Kerala’s banana plantations and a record output of cashews in Ivory Coast. Click on the link to read more of the latest plant health news!
How Data from Plant Clinics is reducing crop losses in the developing world
Excerpt from the ODBMS blog, published 10 February 2016 When you feel unwell, you visit your doctor in his or her clinic, your symptoms are discussed and a diagnosis is made. Often you will be given a prescription, or simply advised on lifestyle changes to improve your health and well-being. If you are lucky, this…
How plant clinics helped a paddy farmer in Tamil Nadu, India
Guest blog contributed by MSSRF Mr Natarajan and his family farm 5 acres of irrigated land in Neduvasal village in Pudukkottai District, Tamil Nadu. Like his father before him, he cultivates paddy, ground nut and pulses during the Kharif, Rabi and summer seasons. He has been growing BPT 5204 paddy, a super fine Ponni variety during the Samba season (October-January). …
Innovative Digital Applications for Sustainable Development – Eighth GCRA International Conference at University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru
It is evident that the development in the field of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and digital applications plays pivotal role in present knowledge based economies. Recently, I attended an ICT focussed international conference with my colleague from D2F in Bengaluru which was organised by UAS Bengaluru and GCRA, Australia from 5th-7th January, 2016 on…
Update: New Pest & Disease Records (10 Feb 16)
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 Lima bean, a new host of Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. phaseoli in Iran, the characterization of Phytophthora amaranthi sp. nov. from amaranth in Taiwan. and new records of Lasiodiplodia theobromae in Tetrapleura tetraptera…
Agricultural innovation framework agreed in Rwanda
Contributed by Rachel Winks, CABI. The partner organisations of the Tropical Agriculture Platform (TAP) met in Kigali, Rwanda, on 19-21 January to agree a new concept for agricultural innovation: the common framework on capacity development for agricultural innovation systems. With growing global population and increased food demand, agricultural innovation can help improve food security, increase…