Update: New Pest & Disease Records (28 Nov 12)

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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 Pepino mosaic virus (PepMV) in Croatia, mites associated with soybean in Brazil, and the first report of Tomato chlorotic spot virus in the USA.
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Plantwise Plant Clinics in Trinidad and Tobago

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Trinidad and Tobago Country Coordinator Shamela Rambadan sent the photo below of a Soursop (Annona muricata) plant brought into a clinic in County Victoria in Trinidad and Tobago by farmer Ramesh Ramnanan last month. The symptoms described included yellowed, distorted leaves and visible insects on the leaves, as seen in the photo. Plant health officer…
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Research Teams and Scientists Working to Stem Ash Dieback Fungus

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Researchers are working towards developing a cost effective solution to controlling  Ash Dieback fungal disease, a major threat to 80 million ash trees in the UK. As part of the plan to tackle Ash Dieback and other invasive pests and diseases, the government has formulated a team of ten internationally recognised experts in plant health, forestry and…
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Update: New Pest & Disease Records (31 Oct 12)

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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 new pest (Duponchelia fovealis) recorded in a peanut field, the first record of Teratopactus nodicollis in dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) and a new distributional record of buff coconut mealybug in Kerala.
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Update: New Pest & Disease Records (17 Oct 12)

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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 a new record of  the whitefly Acaudaleyrodes rachipora attacking clusterbean in India, detection of algal leaf spot in citrus in Paraná state and a novel mastrevirus infecting wheat in India.
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Update: New Pest & Disease Records (03 Oct 12)

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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 Tomato mosaic virus in eggplant in Iran, Brazilian ground pearl damaging blackberry, raspberry and blueberry in Brazil,  and the first report of Ascochyta rabiei causing ascochyta blight of chickpea…
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Sweet Like Chocolate: Breeding Programs Combating Fungal Diseases of Cocoa in Ecuador

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Cocoa, Theobroma cacao L. is the third most important export product in Ecuador; a country which produces 70% of the world’s highly prized Arriba cocoa. However, the sustainability of this crop is threatened by a number of devastating pest species including fungal diseases and insect pests. Among the most severe are the closely related fungal diseases…
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Earthworm-farmer friendship, redefined

Earthworms are known as farmers’ best friends because of the multitude of services they provide that improve soil health and consequently plant health. The density of earthworms in the soil is considered to be a good indicator of a healthy soil because they improve many soil attributes like structure, water holding capacity, moisture content etc.,…
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Update: New Pest & Disease Records (19 Sept 12)

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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 Rice yellow mottle virus on rice in Burundi,  a new host record of the root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne javanica) on strawberries in India and a new strain of tomato…
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Plant doctor in Tanzania uses the Plantwise Knowledge Bank to diagnose crop diseases

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Mr Kimomwe H. Kimomwe, a plant doctor at the Lukozi plant clinic in Lushoto district, Tanzania explains in this video how he used the Plantwise Knowledge Bank to find out what problem a farmer had on his crop of cabbages. He showed the farmer the results from the diagnostic tool, and the farmer was able…
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