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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Update: Plant Health News (26 Sept 12)

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Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including droughts affecting Citrus in Bolivia, discovery of a phosphorous-boosting gene in rice and improved tea cultivars in Malawi. Click on the link to read more of the latest plant health news!
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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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Update: Plant Health News (12 Sept 12)

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Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including banana wilt affecting crops in Uganda, red spider mites infesting Colombian coffee plantations, and new varieties of rice resistant to Rice yellow mottle virus. Click on the link to read more of the latest plant health news!
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Improved Pest Control From Macho Hormone Treated Male Fruit Flies

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The Mexican Fruit Fly Anastrepha ludens is the most important native fruit fly pest of citrus in America and also infests other economically important crops such as peaches, peppers and mangoes. In cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Mexico has developed a Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) method which involves exposing huge quantities of male fruit flies to…
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Update: New Pest & Disease Records (05 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 record of the tomato leafminer Tuta absoluta in Sudan, a post harvest disease caused by Pestalotiopsis mangiferae affecting the mango species Mangifera indica  in Saudi Arabia and sap beetles found…
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Update: Plant Health News (29 Aug 12)

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Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including lack of rain leading to crop losses in India and Guatemala,  discovery of how cyst nematodes attack plants, and increased effort to stop the spread of maize lethal necrosis in Kenya. Click on the link to read more of the latest plant…
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Update: New Pest & Disease Records (22 Aug 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 novel maize-infecting mastrevirus from the French island Réunion, a new report of leaf blight on eucalyptus caused by Pestalotiopsis virgatula in Thailand and the first occurrence of Drosophila suzukii in…
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