Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is now the norm in agriculture and horticulture. All stakeholders – national and European government agencies and public bodies, agriculture and horticulture organisations, businesses, universities and research institutes – agree with this statement. "More biodiversity and the use of resistant plants are crucial to the successful implementation of ...
A decade spent developing pheromones for pest management underscored the importance of these chemicals for Michael Gilbert, president and CEO of British Columbia’s SemiosBio Technologies Inc. But at a cost of up to $5,000 a kilogram, pheromones are also one of the costliest pest control products on the market, making targeted deployment key to cost-effectiveness. Ideally, growers would ...
The number of different pests plaguing crops in the developing world may be vastly underestimated, contributing to severely reduced harvests in some of the world’s most important food-producing nations, say researchers. About 200 pests and pathogens per country fly under the radar of researchers and policymakers in the developing world due to a lack of technical capacity to detect them, ...
The report; Climate Change and Invasive Plants in South Australia, used climate projections to 2080 to examine how weeds may shift in range across the State. Detailed profiles are provided for 13 weed species, including options for managing them under climate change. Lead-author, Dr Darren Kriticos from CSIRO’s Climate Adaptation Flagship, said projections of future climate scenarios ...
The multi-billion dollar cassava industry of South–East Asia may already be suffering from multiple pest and disease outbreaks triggered by climate change, cassava researchers have told a conference in Bangkok. Although the crop can thrive in hotter and dryer conditions in the region, an increase in ...
East Africa's horticulture could face a severe crisis due to 'species jump' — whereby a disease moves from a known host to new and unusual ones — affecting fruits, vegetables, and medicinal and ornamental plants. Researchers in Uganda have discovered that the Black Coffee Twig Borer, a devastating coffee pest, has crossed over from Robusta coffee to about 40 plant ...
Four of the world's most destructive agricultural pests are actually one and the same fruit fly, according to the results of a global research effort released today. The discovery should lead to the easing of certain international trade restrictions and also aid efforts to combat the ability of these harmful insects to reproduce, experts said. The so-called Oriental, Philippine, Invasive and ...
Grants totaling nearly US$1 million have been awarded for projects that use Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approaches to reduce pesticide risk. The grants will support the demonstration of innovative IPM practices, technologies, outreach and education. IPM is an effective and environmentally sensitive approach to pest management that relies on a combination of common-sense practices. In ...
Native ants living in cacao trees in Indonesia that are often seen as pests in fact seem to boost their yields, a study suggests. Scientists from Germany, Indonesia and Sweden studying how ant communities affect cocoa yields in Sulawesi found that trees with abundant native ants (Dolichoderus sp.) produced the best yields. In contrast, the yields of cacao trees where ants were excluded were 27 ...
Companies and breakthroughs most likely to help the world produce more food with less Dwindling water, farmland and fossil-based fertilizers are making it increasingly difficult to feed people today, let alone those expected in the future. Select companies are poised to reinvigorate large scale agriculture with cleantech innovations that help expand yields, increase efficiencies, ...
Coffee production in parts of East Africa and South America could suffer as climate change drives up the numbers and distribution of a key pest, according to research. Scientists from the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) in Kenya say their study provides the first global maps of the coffee ...
Agriculture must become more productive if it is to feed a much larger world population while responding to the daunting environmental challenges ahead, FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf said here today. Opening a two-day High-Level Expert Forum on How to Feed the World in 2050 Diouf told the 300 delegates that over the next 40 years: 'The combined effect of population growth, strong income ...
A warmer than usual winter and wet spring are ushering in some crop diseases and weeds early in the season and could trigger a pestier summer. Ohio State University entomologists are keeping a close eye on insect species that survived the winter and may appear earlier and more abundantly. Particularly concerning are the pests that preyed on last year’s crops, including slugs, stink bugs and ...
Bats that prey on a major rice pest in Thailand could save paddy harvests worth millions of dollars and help contribute to better food security, scientists say in a paper published in Biological Conservation in March. Using data from a previous study and their own field survey, the scientists came up with a value of the predation of the ...
How to prevent insects, bacteria, viruses and weeds from infesting fruit, vegetable and other plant and food consignments and then spreading across the world is the focus of a four-day gathering of international experts which began at FAO today. The annual meeting of the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM), the ...
The creation of a new global electronic certification system that will help curb the spread of plant pests and diseases through international trade in a more secure and cost-effective way has been approved by representatives from 181 countries. The Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM), the governing body of the International Plant Protection Convention agreed to develop a global ...
Egypt is an important exporter of horticultural crops such as green beans, sweet pepper, tomatoes, strawberries and cucumbers. Markets are increasingly demanding concerning the residues of plant protection products (PPP’s). Import of horticultural products is regularly rejected because of high residue levels. To reduce this risk it is necessary that Egyptian growers apply less pesticides ...
Federal and state agriculture officials today delivered some welcome news for New Jersey residents in the state's long running battle against the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB). "After more than a decade, we can declare ...
The European Union (EU), FAO and the Government of Zambia launched a four-year, €11 million programme to increase crop production and productivity of over 300 000 small-scale farmers by promoting practices based on conservation agriculture. The agricultural production of smallholder farmers in Zambia is most affected by soil degradation, high-input prices, poor produce markets and poor ...
Bayer CropScience is committed to proactive stewardship to underline the company’s strong commitment to sustainable agriculture. “We help growers around the world produce high-quality and high-yielding crops,” said Matthias Haug, Head of SeedGrowth at Bayer CropScience. “We take product stewardship very seriously, as it is important to maximize the benefits of seed ...