Factsheet of the month: January 2016 – Blast in Paddy
Scientists from the University of Delaware, USA, have recently uncovered critical information about the effect that deadly rice blast fungus has on rice plants, which could lead to more effective effective control measures in the fight against this disease. The team found that Magnaporthe grisea, the fungus responsible for rice blast, causes an increase in…
Update: Plant Health News (04 Jun 14)
Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including the discovery of a microbe that could help control rice blast, concern over the effects of erratic rainfall on crops in Somalia and the discovery of a gene encoding resistance to stem and fruit rot of pepper. Click on the link to read more…
Update: Plant Health News (06 Nov 13)
Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including a bumper harvest for Bangladesh from stress tolerant rice varieties, news that plant production could decline as climate change affects soil nutrients, and Autralia’s Minister for the Environment launches a new sustainability app for farmers. Click on the link to read more of the…
Update: Plant Health News (23 Oct 13)
Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including the role of botanic gardens in food security, how grazers and pollinators shape plant evolution and a new soil testing kit designed for smallholder farmers. Click on the link to read more of the latest plant health news!
Update: Plant Health News (09 Oct 13)
Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including a new rice variety to cushion farmers against crop loss through blast, a checklist of scale insect pests in Iran and Asian citrus growers looking to diversity their crop with bananas. Click on the link to read more of the latest plant health…
Which is the most important plant-pathogenic fungus?
A survey by the journal, Molecular Plant Pathology, had 495 responses from international fungal pathologists on what they thought the most scientifically and economically important fungal plant pathogens were. Several of the ‘top 10’ fungi from these results are those that infect cereal crops, which isn’t surprising as cereals such as wheat and rice are…