Update: Plant Health News (12 Mar 14)

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Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including the use of Stink Bug saliva in pest control, FAO’s article on empowering women in agriculture and new research into the delayed resistance of pests to Bt crops. Click on the link to read more of the latest plant health news!
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Update: Plant Health News (26 Feb 14)

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Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including drought affecting coffee in Brazil, new biodegradable mulches that could be used as an alternative to polyethylene and innovative farm machinery used in Bangladesh. Click on the link to read more of the latest plant health news!
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Update: Plant Health News (12 Feb 14)

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Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including a new biocontrol treatment to control Rhinoceros beetles on coconut,  research to show GM Bt crops don’t harm non-target insects  and research into the use of insects to control invasive weeds. Click on the link to read more of the latest plant…
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Update: Plant Health News (29 Jan 14)

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Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including the development of shock treatments for weeds, plans to monitor pesticide residues in Nepal and the development of enset varieties resistant to bacterial wilt disease in Ethiopia. Click on the link to read more of the latest plant health news!
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Update: Plant Health News (16 Jan 14)

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Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including the role of radio and mobile phones in boosting crop yields in Namibia, the discovery of ants protecting Acacia trees from pathogens and different approaches to controlling the emerald ash borer in the US. Click on the link to read more of…
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Plantwise supporting implementation of the International Code of Conduct on Pesticide Management

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Contributed by Melanie Bateman, CABI Switzerland In the mid-1980s, in order to respond to problems associated with the sale and use of pesticides, the FAO Conference adopted the International Code of Conduct on the Distribution and Use of Pesticides. This document has subsequently been revised several times in order to keep pace with changing circumstances.…
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Rotterdam Convention members agree prior consent required for azinphos-methyl trade

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Contributed by Melanie Bateman, CABI Switzerland It is estimated that 2 million chemical preparations  are for sale around the world[1]. Many of these chemicals have hazards associated with them. An estimated 200,000 people die each year of pesticide poisoning[2]. And yet, it is very difficult for any one country acting on its own to track all of…
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Hazardous pesticides on the agenda as the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions hold joint meeting

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Contributed by Melanie Bateman, CABI Switzerland  Geneva– The three conventions that govern chemicals and hazardous waste safety at the global level are, for the first time, convening jointly in an historic back-to-back meeting of the parties in Geneva from 28 April to 10 May, 2013. The joint meeting aims to strengthen cooperation and collaboration between…
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Weaving a web of crop protection

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Spider-Man was perhaps the first to demonstrate the full effects of a spider bite: crime-fighting superpowers. But now it’s the turn of cereal crops to benefit. The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) in Australia is looking into the possibility of using spider venom as an insecticide – a potentially safe, environmentally friendly, and sustainable pest control…
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Agricultural Super Ducks

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Agricultural super ducks? You may think that the entire phrase is flawed. Ducks waddle around in parks, not on farms. You probably have never thought of them as being particularly ‘super’ as they paddle around the park pond, searching for scraps of bread. However, you’d be mistaken, as I was, for the humble duck is…
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